Jurassic World
by pmraptor98
Summary: Jurassic World - done my way. More accuracy, more backstory.
1. Prologue - Remembering Petticoat Lane

Eulogy for John Hammond

July 11, 1997

Imagine yourself nearly 50 years ago, wandering around the market at Petticoat Lane in London, UK. You'll see many things as you browse the windows, stop for snacks, and enjoy a relaxing day out with friends. But of the all the things you may see, probably the most unusual that you'll see is a man, somewhere in his early 30s, standing outside a pie shop, wearing the only suit he has and standing next to a circus tent the size of a dinner plate. As you move closer, you'll notice a number of things outside the tent: a see-saw, a carousel, a miniature trapeze, just to name a few. But more to the point, you'll see that they're all moving, seemingly of their own accord. It is only now that you realize that you've stumbled across the flea circus of John Parker Hammond.

The flea circus at Petticoat Lane was John Hammond's first ever public attraction. A young man, having come down from Scotland not long after the end of WWII, Hammond had a natural flare for showmanship. People were drawn to the flea-size circus tent despite its lack of any real spectacle, all because of John's sheer charisma. Even then, there was a twinkle in his eye, a gleam in his pure white smile, and a soothing, comforting softness in his voice as he spoke.

It soon became obvious that John had charm enough to bring in the crowds. But John was more than just a kindly face. He was a man of grand ideas, ideas that only grew in size and scope as he got older. "Spare no expense!" That's what he used to tell me, and it's what set him apart from most other men of business, both then and now. To him, business was a performance, of which he was a master. It was something of craft and devotion, like a finely sculpted marble bust. The most important part of it to him was to see the fruits of his labor in the eyes of awed spectators the word over. John couldn't put a price on wonder and delight, which is why his attractions were always the best.

But John was for more than a venture capitalist. He was a devoted family man, already married by the time of the flea circus. His wife, Abigail, was with him until her untimely death in 1984 from an automobile accident in Southampton. Devastated, John could do nothing but devote the rest of his remaining energy into his forthcoming prospects.

John and Abigail had three daughters: Meghan, Taylor, and Margaret. Only Taylor would go on to have children of her own, giving John his only two grandchildren, Alexis and Timothy Murphy. Lex and Tim once told me at a family affair in 1992 that having John for a grandfather was like having a real life Santa Clause in the family. He certainly gave them enough presents.

All throughout his career, many of John's critics have tried to portray him as a callous robber baron, a Machiavellian business man blinded by greed and with ambition that overshadowed any hints of compassion or sympathy. These criticisms have become all the more prevalent ever since the tragedy in 1993. But these people didn't know John as I did, or as Abigail did, or as Lex and Tim did. He was a man filled with wonder and with love, and with a burning desire to share that with the whole world. John may have been short-sighted in the long run, but he was never malicious. They also forget how much John did to make amends, and to prevent future tragedies from happening. Money was never John's primary concern.

They say to never speak ill of the dead. Personally, I believe that you can speak ill of the dead, so long as it was something you would have said to their face when they were alive. If he were still with us, I would dare any of John's harshest critics to look into those sparkling eyes, face that warm smile, and say the things they have said against him these past few days.

Good bye John. I swear that to the fullest extent of my power, your legacy will not be shamed.

By Simon Masrani


	2. Chapter 1 - Ingen's Baggage

A stale hot dog bun sits at the opening to a wide alley way in the middle of a street. Cars pass by in both directions, headlights glowing brightly in the dull, dark morning like the eyes of large nocturnal creatures. The roar of their engines drowns out the light pitter patter of rain dancing off the concrete. The fluttering of wings announces the arrival of a single pigeon out of the low lying fog drifting over the city streets. Hopping up tentatively toward the old bun, it bends its neck down to peck at the white bread. Before it can swallow a few crumbs, another pigeon swoops down and lands right in front of the first. After surveying each other for a moment, they both reach out and grab the bun with their beaks. Both of them unfold their wings and begin beating the winds against the concrete streets. Pulling at the old scrap of food, they take off at the same time, spinning in the air like two biplanes in a dog fight.

Concentrating so much on each other, both birds release the bun, and it lands on top of a black stretch limousine. The man sitting inside just barely hears the light thud, but it's enough to make him raise his eyes, if only for a moment. After which, he's back to staring vacantly out of the window. His eyes straddle the line between total boredom and exhaustion. He rests his forehead against the glass window, watching the world disappear behind his condensed breath. His breath is as gray as the dark clouds hanging over the skyscrapers surrounding him at every side. Small drops of rain slide down the window on the outside, eventually finding their way down to the paved road below. The city scape passes by at a snail's pace; not exactly unusual, though it drags out an already long and dreary day.

With traffic the way it is, he sees the building long before the limo pulls up to the front doors. When it does, it's still another minute or so before the driver can get all the way around to where he's sitting to open the door. His foot touches the ground with a light splash as he stands up, sighing deeply as he stretches his body. He turns to the driver and says in a groggy voice with a thick Indian accent, "Thank you, David."

"You're welcome, Mr. Masrani," David says with a slight bow of his head.

David follows Masrani with an umbrella, though Masrani pretends not to notice. Once he reaches the door, he heads off on his own. He gets a 'good morning' from every one he passes. He smiles and nods at all of them, despite not knowing a single one of their names. Ordinarily, he'd wish them all a good morning as well, but not today. Not just yet.

One trip up the elevator, and 15 stories later, and Masrani gets off, heading to the office at the very end of the hall. He opens up the door to the conference room, all the eyes at the table focused on him. Masrani sighs deeply again and says, "Uh, good….uh, good morning everyone. Sorry I'm a little late, it's been a very hectic couple of days." No one says anything, so he proceeds to sit down at the head of the table. "Well then, if nobody has anything to say, I'll get started…..nobody has anything to say, right?" No one says anything. "Okay then, first thing's first. We're going buy out International Genetic Technologies."

No one says anything, though a few look like they're on the verge of saying something, as if mentally constipated. Finally, someone at the other end of the table, a younger red headed man puts up a hand and asked, "Uh…..sorry sir, but…why are we going to buy Ingen?"

Masrani puts up a hand and says, "No it's okay, it's okay, it's a valid question. To be perfectly honest, I do have some rather personal reasons for this acquisition.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, despite a lot of the recent negative press, Ingen nonetheless possesses some rather….unique assets. It holds patents on some of the most powerful genetic technologies and techniques in the world, andhis home to some of the most talented geneticists alive…..but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking more specifically about the assets currently located on the islands of Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, off the coast of Costa Rica."

A woman not too far away raises her hand. "And what are your plans for those assets, exactly?"

"Nothing," Masrani says simply. Another pause, before he continues. "I don't know if any of you watched CNN's coverage of the aftermath of the San Diego incident, but Hammond ran a short interview in which he expressed his wishes to keep the islands – and the animals – safe from human interference. Hammond already suffered betrayal within his own company….from his own family no less. Hammond knew that the allure of those animals is too strong to trust with just anyone. He wanted me to purchase Ingen specifically to keep those creatures out of the hands of people who would try to exploit them."

After yet another long pause, one of the other board members pipes up, "You mean…sir…that you bought Ingen specifically to not use any of its assets."

Masrani holds up a finger and says, "Now, hold one, I didn't say we wouldn't use any of its assets. As I just said, Ingen has some of the most brilliant geneticists out there, and their research has yielded incredible results." Masrani reaches down to a brief case by his chair and pulls out a manila folder, taking out a series of files. "There is one researcher in particular that has caught my attention. Uh…oh damn, what was his name, Henry…Henry, Henry, Henry…Wu! Ah, that's it Dr. Henry Wu. Dr. Wu was almost single handedly responsible for Ingen's patented de-extinction technique. And, just a few weeks ago, Dr. Wu successfully engineered the world's first genetically modified hybrid flower. So as you can see, despite a few…setbacks, Ingen is still full of promise. And with the right guidance, I think it can do great things. The only assets that I refuse to use are the animals themselves."

"It sounds like a really good idea to me," an older gentlemen says from behind a walrus mustache. "Ingen's stock is in the toilet….hell, it's halfway down the U bend at this point. We could probably get it for nothing. It'd be one hell of a fixer upper, but I think we could make it work. We've done far more with far less after all."

"Yes, absolutely," Masrani says. "For starters I think we should move away from recreation and into more practical areas, such as medicine and agriculture." There is a flurry of nods all around the table. "Alright good, very good. Moving on, I also want to briefly go over our plans for Glenda."

He opens up the fridge door, only to find that there's no more vanilla flavored coffee mate, only original. "Ah fuck," he curses under his breath. He takes out the creamer and pours it into his mug until the black roast turns an almost pale tan.

"Want some coffee with your cream?" a voice says from behind.

He closes his eyes and breathes a heavy sigh. Hanging his head, he says, "Can I help you?"

The woman standing behind him smiles and says, "You can pass me the pot, first of all."

Opening his eyes again, he grabs the handle and hands it to her. Taking it, she pours a mug of her own, and takes a sip immediately on filling it up. "So Lilah, what's today's lesson?"

She nods to the fridge door. "Did you read that?"

He turns and looks at the newspaper clipping, put up there a few days ago. "Yeah, I did. Practically company policy, isn't it?"

"And what did you learn from it?" she asks him.

Taking a moment to think, he finally answers, "That Hammond's grandkids' last name is Murphy?"

She narrows her gaze and says, "I was getting more at the base sentimentality."

"Isn't that common knowledge by this point?" he says, pouring sugar into his coffee.

"Well, I mean, he's always been kind of a doof…but I always assumed it was more for show than anything. But you don't get this far without knowing bullshit when you smell it….well, I don't anyway. That stuff he was talking about back there? You know, about not using the dinosaurs? He means it. Left up to him, those two island are just going to sit there until the day they crumble into the sea."

Taking a long sip of his coffee, he waits for her to continue. When she doesn't, he say, "…And…?"

"Come on, Graham! Think it about it!" she says in hissing whispers. "Ingen has two islands' worth of living dinosaurs, and we're not going to do anything with that? Anything? Like, at all?"

Graham shrugs. "Makes sense to me. I mean, even without Masrani's honoring Hammond's dying wish, it makes sense. I wouldn't do anything with them. Those things are more trouble than they're worth if you ask me. Ingen tried twice to build a zoo with them, and both times failed. Ya know, fool me once, that sort of thing?"

"Ever hear the phrase twice makes a pattern?" Lilah asks him. He nods, and she continues. "Well it doesn't. So Ingen suffered from cluster fuck management, why do we have to suffer for it?"

"Because we bought them, mostly," he says.

"Listen; you know as well as I do that even if Masrani goes his whole life without ever once touching either one of those islands, eventually they'll just pass into someone else's hands, someone who couldn't give two shits about John Hammond's dying wish. It's going to happen, sooner or later. I'd rather it happen while I'm on Masrani's payroll."

"The whole March of Progress sort of thing?" Graham asks, taking another sip.

"Well, I don't know if 'progress' is the right word for it, but basically, yeah. It's inevitable."

"True enough….but then, why are you telling me?"

"Oh please, everyone knows you're Masrani's favorite. He gets all nostalgic about Mascom. I think you should work your way up to his good side, and make him see the reality of the situation."

Cocking one of his eyebrows, Graham says, "Huh….you really think I can?"

"Sure," she says simply. "At least, if you can't, no one can. Just make sure to do it quietly. Subtly. Like a combination of a black panther and a lawyer."

With a chuckle, he says, "Two of the most vicious creatures on the planet."

She smiles back at him. "Not anymore."

Looking down into his coffee, Graham says, "You sure he wouldn't listen to you? I mean, you're Vice President, he'd gotta put more stock into what you say than me?"

With a roll of her eyes, Lilah leans against the wall. "Trying to talk to Masrani is like tapping my finger on the glass ceiling. He needs to maintain his image as head honcho, which means having all the best ideas. God forbid one of his underlings come up with an original thought…especially if she's a woman."

"Huh, didn't know Masrani was such a misogynist."

"Misogyny is an acquired taste in the world of business. I'm not about to start complaining about it now…second beset to Masrani is still miles above most men out there." She crosses her arms.

Graham shakes his head. "I still don't think I can convince him."

"I beg to differ," Lilah says. "You just have to do it right."

"What does that mean?"

"It means time, and a hell of a lot of sucking up," Lilah says, lowering her voice and getting closer to him. "Don't even think of trying any time soon. Masrani only acts like a moron. You don't get to be the 8th richest man in the world without understanding how people work. He'd see you coming a mile away."

"Okay, then when?"

Lilah purses her lips and looks at the ground. When she looks back up at Graham, she says, "A year. At least."

His eyes go wide. "Shit…you really think about the big picture, don't you?"

She shrugs. "Someone has to."

At that moment, Masrani sticks his head into the room. They both jump, startled at his sudden appearance. "Oh, whoa, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No problem, Mr. Masrani," Graham says, raising his mug.

Masrani smiles at them and says, "I'm running down to the Subway two blocks over, either of you guys want anything?"

The two of them exchange looks, and Lilah lets out a single laugh before saying, "Uh….sure, how about a cold turkey sandwhich?"

Marani nods, holding up a sticky note and a pen. "Okay…,.cold turkey…and you, Graham?"

"Uh….six inch buffalo chicken? With mayo?"

Jotting down the two orders, Masrani looks back at them and says, "Very good, okay. Now I just- Oh, Darren! Darren wait!" he rushes out of the doorframe down the hall.

When he's well away from them, they both can't help but laugh. "Can you believe this guy?" Graham asks, keeping a cautiously quiet voice.

"That's our boss," she says finishing her coffee.

After a brief pause, when they both stop laughing, Graham says, "Okay, um…..let's say we do it. Ya know? We get Masrani to use the dinosaurs for….something, I don't know. What if it goes wrong?...again?"

Walking over to the counter, Lilah sets her mug down in the sink. "Well cross that bridge when we come to it. If you don't like taking risks, you're in the wrong line of work. This is no different."

 **1 YEAR LATER**

A quick glance at his watch confirms what Graham knew was true for some time now: Masrani was late. If this were anyone else, Graham would suspect him of being fashionably late. As it was, he is almost certain Masrani was having trouble finding a clean pair of underpants. Much as Graham would rather sit at the bar and order a martini dryer than the Sahara, he knew how unprofessional it was if Masrani showed up looking for someone who was busy with a head start getting drunk.

Taxis and limos pull up on a continuous loop, dropping off fabulously-dressed socialites that pay Graham about as much attention as they pay their drivers. If they do glace at Graham, it's only to reaffirm how special they feel going out with friends and lovers to an upscale restaurant. Occasionally, Graham shoots them a wave, but it's always accompanied by a smile more artificial than half of the women's breasts. If they could hear his mutters above the din of street noise, half of them would probably try to sue him.

Glancing at his watch again, he tugs nervously at his collar. The first signs of sweat being to trickle down his brow. Not having anticipated the wait outside, he doesn't even have a handkerchief to wipe away the beads of sweat accumulating under his bangs. He's too far from the door to the restaurant to catch any of the AC blasting from the lobby. The polyester shirt and jacket isn't helping matters.

Finally, an exceptionally long stretch limousine pulls up to the sidewalk. The driver moves to open the door, but Masrani pushes out himself, waving the driver way; Hustling up to Graham, Masrani pants as he says, "Graham! Ah, I'm so sorry, I meant to call you. I got a little…a little distracted. I keep losing my socks, I have no idea what keeps happening to them! It's as if…oh nevermind, it's all hearsay now. Come on, let's get a table." He pats Graham on the shoulder and leads him inside. Graham doesn't even bother trying to say anything. He just breathes a sigh of relief as the AC blasts him in his face.

Simon Masrani doesn't need a reservation, at this place or any other. He waves to the hostess, picks out a table, and takes his seat. And nobody bats an eye. Before he can even open a menu, two waiters have already been buy, offering complimentary salad, bread, and fine wine. Not that he notices it. "Okay, let's see…..ooooohhh boy, decisions, decisions," he says lazily, flipping through the menu pages. "I'm having a craving….but I can't tell what for, not yet…" without looking, he picks up one of the glasses on the table and takes a sip. Scrunching his face, he looks at the waiter and says, "It's uh…..it's not bad, but could I get a root beer please?" The waiter is off before Graham can blink. "What about you, what are you in the mood for?" Masrani asks him.

Still swept up in the luxury treatment , Graham's lips quiver as he says, "Oh uh…..I, I don't know, really. Seafood maybe?"

Masrani's eyes go wide, and he snaps his fingers. "Seafood! Ah, yes,yes, good, very good, excellent! That's what my craving is for!"

Graham can't help but produce an awkward smile. "Well uh…yeah, right. Cool. So….I guess I'm feeling mussels tonight."

Masrani shakes his head. "Oh no no no no no, I don't think so," as if Graham had been talking about him. "I can't decide between the salmon and the lobster…." Then he shrugs. "Eh, I'll get both, see which one I like more.

"But in the meantime, congratulations, huh?! That last report was stunning, well done Graham, well done," and he holds up his Barq's root beer and toasts Graham's Bombay Sapphire and tonic.

"Thanks, Mr. Masrani," he says.

Masrani waves him off before swallowing. When he does, he says, "Oh please, for tonight at least, call me Simon."

Shrugging, Graham says, "Alright…..Simon."

After ordering their three dinners, Masrani turns back to Graham and says, "So, how's Dad's first born doing?"

At first Graham just stares at Masrani as Masrani stares back at him with expecting eyes. "I…..wh-what do you mean?"

"Mascom, of course!" Masrani says incredulously.

"Oooohhhh, okay…..wait, what did you call it exactly?"

"Dad's first born. You know, his first ever company. That's a little nickname I came up for it. It's older than me!"

"Ah, right," Graham says, just the tiniest hint of discomfort in his voice.

"So anyway, what's going on over at Mascom? How's Glinda coming along?"

"So far so good. The level of precision on these storms is phenomenal."

"Alright, alright!" Masrani says with a smile. "And you're sure this same technology will work in orbit?"

Graham shrugs. "Can't think of why not. The engineers are positively giddy about getting it up there as soon as possible."

"Well now, let's not be too hasty. It's like John Hammond use to tell me, 'Spare no expense!' If you're going to do something, do it right or not at all."

Graham tries to pretend that he's not fazed by the mention of Hammond. "Right, right," he says, attempting to sound casual. "Speaking of which, how's Ingen doing? Frist year under Masrani, things gotta be all better now, right?"

Masrani lets out a deep sigh as he picks at his lobster. "Well….for the most part yes. Research is back on track, at a steady pace. The chief geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu; my god, that man is a genius! Just last week…oh, I suppose I shouldn't say anymore. I mean….okay, I guess I'll say just say that he's making some very promising progress in the area of gene splicing."

"But…?" Graham says, egging him on,

"Well….mostly, it has to do with the two islands off Costa Rica. You know, the ones with the…?" Graham nods, and Masrani continues. "Anyway, as you know, Hammond's dying wish to me was to protect those islands, and the animals that live there. So far, that's proved very difficult to do."

"How so?"

"The Costa Rican authorities have been reporting two things which worry me. One is the sudden appearance of some rather….exotic items for sale on the black market. The other is an increase in the number of mysterious disappearances and hospitalizations."

Nodding, Graham says, "Poaching?"

"Exactly," Masrani says. "The allure of those animals is too strong. The possibility of making thousands of dollars off a single horn or tooth is too much, especially for the lower income Costa Rican citizens. Meanwhile, people are getting mauled, animals are getting slaughtered, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Graham can't help but utter a single chuckle. "Oh come on, you're one of the richest men in the word, there's got to be something you can do."

Masrani puts his arms up. "What am I supposed to do? Station a fleet of battleships around both of the islands 24/7?"

"Oh don't tell me you can't afford it."

"Well…" and Masrani cracks half a smile, "Okay probably yes, but I couldn't maintain it. I've got 7 other projects in the pipeline – maybe 8. And unlike those, I wouldn't see a return from a constant island guard."

"Right, right," Graham says, nodding. His attention has already shifted to a potential solution. He pauses to choose his words very carefully. Then, he begins. "Sir….just out of curiosity, exactly what did Hammond tell you before he died."

"He warned me about the lure of those creatures," Masrani says, looking wistfully into the crowded restaurant. "After the first disaster in 1993, not your years later, his company tries to do the same thing, and causes an even bigger tragedy. He warned me about the greed that clouds men's' judgment when looking at those animals. They see dollars instead of danger. He wanted me to protect the islands from people like that."

Nodding very slowly, Graham says, "Yeah, guess that's not going so well."

"Not exactly, no."

"Hmm…" once more, Graham chooses his words with caution. "Sir….have you considered the possibility that….maybe what Hammond meant…..was that you take a kind of…..kind of stewardship of the islands?"

Masrani keeps his head down, but his eyes rise to meet Graham's. "Explain."

"Well, we've already established that people are already exploiting the animals. And doing nothing isn't helping anyone. You need to get more involved with these islands."

"How?"

"Now….I know what you're going to say, but just hear me out first, alright? Maybe Hammond wanted you to have the islands specifically because he trusted you more than anyone else. He trusted you to run the islands responsibly. Under your leadership-"

But Masrani is already shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no, a hundred times no. Nothing good has ever come from those creatures, they're more trouble than they're worth."

"I think you may be underestimating how much they're worth," Graham says. "You have the means and the wisdom to run the islands so that the animals and people can both be safe and happy. You could open a park on one island, and then use the profits to fund a guard of the other."

"It would never work," Masrani says simply, not looking at Graham.

"Why not?" Graham asks defiantly. Masrani opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. "Look, just…..just think about it, okay? I mean, I feel like everyone assumes dinosaurs can't be controlled or whatever, but has anyone ever considered that maybe Ingen just suffered from bad management? Because if so, then clearly we don't have that problem!" he says, holding his hands out toward Masrani.

Masrani rolls his eyes at the obvious attempt at flattery. "I will…..consider it. But that's all. I will take it under consideration, along with any other options I can think of. You're right about one thing – I can't do nothing. Not anymore. But I'm not about to go rushing headfirst into making Ingen's mistakes for a third time."

"Of course not."


	3. Chapter 2 - Moving Forward

"I got the doughnuts!"

Masrani carries three boxes, containing three dozen pastries, emblazoned with the orange and pink colors of Dunkin' Donuts. On top is a box of assorted munchkins, and trailing behind him are three interns carrying boxes of coffee and the accompanying accessories. The room is silent as they enter, all nine board members dumbfounded at the boisterous, unexpected entrance. Masrani's appearance is most out of character; not because he's brought breakfast, but rather because he's actually on time, 8 minutes early in fact.

"Let's see, I got the basics mostly. I call strawberry with sprinkles though. If anyone eats the strawberry sprinkle ones, they're going to be strapped to Glinda when she goes into orbit!" he calls to them with a goof smile. One all the breakfast items are settled on the side table against the wall, Masrani plants himself in his chair, getting his things together. "Well, go on," he says, gesturing toward the table.

Awkwardly, all nine board members line up to grab some coffee and maybe a doughnut or E Claire. Masrani lets them have their pick before taking his flavor of choice and a cup of joe with two cream and two sugar. Still chewing his first bite, Masrani begins the conference, "Alrighty, are you folks ready to get started?"

There is a general motion of affirmation among the board. One of them, a short-haired blonde woman, raises her hand and says, "Excuse me sir. Hope you don't mind me saying, but….you seem in a really good mood."

Nodding, Masrani says, "Yes, of course! Judgment Day, here at last! I'm excited to hear what the report has discovered." He motions to Graham, sitting at his side.

Graham flashes a glance at the red-headed Lilah across the table from him before picking up a manila folder. "Yes, right. So, last year, after the retrospective Ingen Field Report was first commissioned, we've learned a lot. Now, before we get into the report details, I'll just start by saying that our report supports the idea that human error, more than anything, is to blame for Ingen's past failures."

Masrani smiles, holding up a single, pointed index finger. "A- ha! Of course, I anticipated that you'd come up with those results. Now, I don't mean anything personal by this, but….well, let's face it; we all have something of a bias here. So I thought I'd get a second opinion. Now, we can't get an unbiased point of view, but we can at least consider the other side." And with that statement, he pulls out a large, hardcover book, shimmering violet against brilliant white letter that spell out _God Creates Dinosaurs: Complexity Theory and the Ingen Incidents_ by Dr. Ian Malcolm.

The board members look at the book with a mixture of confusion and frustration. Lilah smiles politely and says, "Sir…I'm sure that the report is comprehensive enough to address any possible concerns-,"

"Oh I'm sure it is," he says, interrupting her. "But I want to check for myself. If the report is truly as strong as you claim, then a little challenge couldn't hurt, right? Dr, Malcolm isn't just one of the world's leading experts on chaos theory, he's also a survivor of both the incidents on Isla Nublar and San Diego. If our report can stand up to his criticisms, then we know that we've got nothing to worry about. So-" he says, opening up the book. "Let's get started. Claim number one: attempting to recreate an extinct ecosystem is an inherently chaotic exercise that would collapse in a theme park environment." Masrani moves his eyes from the book to the board, awaiting their response.

Graham delves into the manila folder, shuffling through documents in search of one that would yield a relevant answer to this challenge. "I…I know there's-there's something in here…..if I can just….find – ah, there we go" he says, pulling out a single document. "This is a letter of correspondence between Dr. Malcolm and John Hammond himself, dated January 2nd, 1991. In it, Dr. Malcolm expresses the same concern prior to his time on Isla Nublar. To which Hammond responded that the purpose of the park was not to recreate any extinct ecosystem, as only select individual species were brought back from extinction."

"Ah, okay," Masrani begins, "But that raises two more issues. Firstly, you admit then that nothing is being recreated; instead the communities of organisms on the islands are wholly artificial. It is only natural that unexpected phenomenon would manifest. Hardly fitting for a resort destination.

"And secondly," he continues, before Graham has the opportunity to respond, "Trying to exert control over these new organisms increases the selective pressures operating on their development and evolution. This increases the likelihood of the system devolving into chaos."

Lilah squirms slightly in her set. The passages from Malcolm's book are cringe-worthy; anybody who writes prose this dense has to be hiding something. It's very easy to hide bad ideas behind big words. Being translated by Masrani only adds another layer of ignorance, making these statements sound even more inane. How is Masrani supposed to know what he's talking about if Malcolm doesn't even know?

"Okay…..okay, okay, okay," Graham says, fishing around for yet more documents. Keeping up with the arguments is difficult seeing as they don't seem to make much sense.

Eventually, Lilah gives up on Graham and addresses Masrani herself. "Sir, we accept that it is absolutely impossible to control the islands to the extent that Hammond tried. The main thing to take away from the report is that it was Ingen's bad managerial approaches to running the park that led to its collapse. As such, we have seen fit to devise alternate approaches to park management that would address Dr. Malcolm' critiques."

Masrani turns to her, eyes slightly wide. Then, he gives a slight smile and says, "Alright then. Let me hear them."

Nearly doing a double take, Lilah clears her throat and turns to Graham, nodding. Graham pulls out several files from the back of the folder. "Well…." Graham says glancing at the document, "One of Hammond's park policies was to forbid unauthorized breeding in the park. All animals were bred female to prevent unwanted birth. However, the inclusion of amphibian DNA in the dinosaurs' genomes allowed at least some of them to change sex."

Masrani nods. "Yes yes, see this is what Dr. Malcolm is talking about!"

"Yes," Lilah says, "Which is why we would both limit the amount of foreign DNA in our animals' genomes as well as permit them to breed, culling the herds if population control becomes a security issue."

"Another factor to the park's collapse was Hammond's over dependence on automation. The whole park was apparently operated from a single control room with only three staff members. It's not really surprising that the system would collapse eventually…tragic, but not surprising," he added, noticing the turn of Masrani's gaze on him.

"And don't forget the kicker," Lilah says.

"Wha-? Oh, right, right," he says, holding up a single document. "While the popular perception is that a storm led to a power outage on the island, disabling the electric fences and allowing the animals to escape. This is actually not true.

"Reports from the survivors indicate that the park still had power by the time the animals had escaped; park security systems had been intentionally disabled by a disgruntled park employee – Dennis Nedry, now deceased – who was in charge of the park's automated systems."

Masrani puts down Malcolm's book. "Let me see that document," he says with a furrowed brow.

Graham hands him the document. "Apparently dissatisfied with his pay, Nedry was contacted by rival biotech company, Biosyn."

Masrani eyes go very wide. "Lewis Dodgson's company?"

"That's correct. Dodgson and Nedry conspired to steal dinosaur embryos off the island for Biosyn. Nedry disabled park security so he could steal the embryos from cold storage. It is unknown at this time how Nedry was supposed to transport the embryos off the island."

Masrani scans the document intently, looking it over very thoroughly before turning to Graham and saying, "Malcolm failed to mention this."

"Probably because a fat ass computer nerd doesn't have anything to do with the divine wrath of nature," Lilah says, smirking slightly.

"But that doesn't change the fact that the park is a system too complex to control-"

"Then don't try to control it!" Lilah says leaning toward him. "You always say, the only way to live life is to accept that you are never actually in control. Expect the unexpected. It's not about keeping things from going wrong, it's about making sure you can fix things when they do go wrong. Malcolm's right, things are going to go wrong. But unlike Hammond, we can anticipate that.":

Hammond looks at her, practically stunned. After a prolonged moment of silence, he lets out a deep sigh and says, "Alright. I want you to expend upon your initial concepts for park management. If I you can demonstrate that they will keep the park from collapsing into total chaos, then we will proceed with construction."

"There is one last thing to bring up," Lilah says, blinking a few times from the rush of a victory over Masrani. "After two disastrous incidents, people aren't going to want to come to a dinosaur park unless they can feel safe. Now, so far, there haven't been any truly successful attempts at containing the animals after they've escaped. Basically, we need to build a security program with no antecedent."

"What do you propose to do?" Masrani asks.

"For now, research. Look into the latest in weapons technology, maybe look a little into private military contracting."

Masrani nods. "Good, good. Well, I have to say, you've all done an impressive job with this project. Well done, well done all around. Continue with your research, expand upon these concepts, and we'll see if we can't get this project off the ground."

The board breaks into a modest applause, both Graham and Lilah smiling at themselves.

 **SEPTEMBER 16, 2001**

"Ms. Martin, your 3 O' clock is here."

Still in the middle of a sip of ice tea, Lilah rushes to put the drink down and presses the intercom. "Good, yes, Perfect, send him in."

She straightens herself up, making sure to look as presentable as she can in the span of a 30 seconds. In a moment, the door to her office opens, and a tall, slightly overweight man with narrow eyes walks in, led in by her secretary. "Thank you, Amy," she says before she and the man are left alone in her office. She stands up and walks around her desk to meet him. Holding out her hand, she says, "Mr. Hoskins, good to see you!"

"Ms. Martin," he says with a single nod. Lilah notices his grip is firm. A good sign.

"Please, take a seat," she gesture to the chair next to him. While he takes his seat, she returns to her desk and sits across from him. "First of all, just wanted to congratulate you on your successful mission up in Alberta."

"Thank you, Ma'am," he says, sitting fairly stiffly in his seat.

"You're obviously a man of exceptional experience, at least if your resume is anything to go by," she says, holding up a folder.

"23 years of geo-politically neutral military service," he says.

"Oh...so that's what you call it," she says relaxing a little in her seat.

He shrugs, "That's what it is. The goal is to save lives and protect innocents regardless of their national identity."

"That's noble," she says. "Regardless of what it's called, you're nonetheless exceptionally good at it. Mr. Hoskins, Masrani's most recent acquisition, the biotech company, International Genetic Technologies, is expanding. The move has been in talks for months, but…..as result of the tragedy in New York last week…we're finally going ahead with it. Armed forces, defense, security – all huge growth areas. You are just the cherry on top of our plans for Ingen's new private security division."

"Makes sense," Hoskins says. "But why me?"

"You have experience," she says.

"So do a lot of guys."

Lilah smiles. "Not the kind we need. In addition to expanding into private security, Ingen is also pushing forward with one of the biggest undertakings in the world; the construction of a fully functioning resort, theme park, and zoological attraction on Isla Nublar."

Hoskins sit in his chair, putting a finger on his chin before saying, "Zoological attraction? You mean…-" she nods. "You sure that's such a good idea?"

"Believe me, Mr. Hoskins, we have spent over a year identifying the failures of the previous park and working to correct them. This isn't just Ingen anymore; it's Masrani Global. "

"And what makes you think you can make it work?"

"You are, Mr. Hoskins," she says smiling at him. "Part of Ingen's new private security division will be tasked with protecting Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna. On Nublar, you'll be working with a group called Asset Containment, charged with keeping the animals away from park patrons. Meanwhile, on Sorna, you're main goal will be preventing poachers and thrill seekers from approaching the island and disrupting the animals there."

Hoskins strokes his chin even more, his brown stern and hard. "Now, Ingen's not just going in to PM, right? They're still doing biotech?"

"That's correct," Lilah says. "it's an expansion, not a usurpation."

"Interesting," he says almost wistfully.

"So what do you say? Interested?"

He gives her a smile and says, "That's one word for it! Just let me know my salary, and we may have a deal!"


	4. Chapter 3 - On Dinosaurs

Lights whiter than the sun shine down on the lab below. The alabaster color of the entire room gives it an overly-clean, sterile feeling. The staff is dressed in white lab coats the complete the look of obsessive cleanliness. The room is largely quiet, save for the light footfalls of geneticists moving from one side of the lab to the other. The machines give off a soft, whirring noise, but are otherwise comparatively silent.

Dr. Wu stands over a young woman, holding a pipette in one hand, steadying a gene solution in the other. "That's it," he says softly. "Now introduce the enzymes." She pushes down on the pipette, squirting the enzymes into the gene solution. "Very good, Erica, very good! See, I told you you'd make progress!"

They are interrupted by a knock on the glass wall a few yards away. Both of them look up to see Simon Masrani standing by the window, waving at them. "Oh jeez, is that the time?" Wu says, looking at his watch. "Sorry, Erica, I have to go to a meeting now. Uh….Jeff? Where's Jeff? Anyway, find Jeff Thomas, he'll help you with the rest, alright?"

"Okay Dr. Wu," she says simply.

He pats her affectionately, though quickly, on the shoulder before rushing to the lab door. Meeting Masrani in the hallway, he says, "Mr. Masrani, sir!"

"Good to see you, Henry," Masrani says, offering his hand.

Wu takes it, and says, "Where do you want to do this? My office?"

"Sure, sure, yeah that should be fine," he says. "Lead the way." Wu leads Masrani back into the lab, to the opposite side of the room, where an office sits behind glass walls in one of the corners. Masrani places himself in the chair in front of Wu's desk, while Wu takes a seat behind the desk. "So how are things here, Henry? Enjoying the new position?"

"It is amazing, thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Masrani! We've got some very exciting things coming!"

"Oh I know, Henry I know. And the most exciting thing for sure…" he says, eyeing Wu with delight.

"So it's a go then? We're ready to proceed?" Wu asks quietly, leaning in toward Masrani. Masrani merely gives up a thumps up, to which Wu claps his head, sitting back in his chair as he says, "Fantastic, Mr. Masrani, this is absolutely fantastic! When should I tell the rest of the staff? I mean, this is going to put a bit of a stopper into some of our smaller projects, but I think everyone-"

"Yes, right, listen Henry," Masrani says, cutting him off with one hand, "Before we proceed with development, I want to talk a little bit about the direction we want to take with these animals."

"Oh right, yes, of course," Wu says.

"Now, I've been looking at some of Ingen's old files, and one thing that I want to talk about is gene splicing the dinosaurs with frog DNA."

Looking a little nervous, Wu says, "What exactly would you like to know?"

"First of all, why gene splice at all?"

"Ah, well unfortunately, we were only working with fragments of the entire DNA strand. Often times we would have to fill in the gaps of the strand with the DNA of other animals. Frogs were one of the most commonly used sources since scientists have had a lot of experience replicating and manipulating frog DNA."

"Ah, okay, okay," Masrani says. "I'm just curious because, for my vision of this park, I really want to be able to show people real dinosaurs. To me, that's what makes dinosaurs so fascinating, is that they were real animals that really lived on this same planet as us. It gives us a very important sense of perspective. We are a small, new species compared to them. That's what I want to share with people – the beautiful reality of these animals."

Wu leans his head to one side, avoiding Masrani's eyes directly. "Well….I mean, technically, sir, we can't recreate dinosaurs in a more….'pure' form. We just don't have access to the necessary DNA."

"Is there any way that you can make them closer to their true selves? Like, perhaps use the DNA of lizards or crocodiles or something, instead of frogs?"

"Well, the best choice would be birds, since birds are descended from dinosaurs….we certainly, could…the only problem is that it's very difficult for us to know when we have succeeded. Like, since no one has ever seen a dinosaur before, how are we supposed to know when we've successfully created one?"

Masrani rubbed the back of his head. "Hmm….good point….what would be very useful was if there was some way of knowing what the animal would look like before creating it. Then, you could show this…this 'prototype' to paleontologists to see how closely it matches what we know about real dinosaurs."

Wu looks down at his desk contemplatively. "It's….it's not…..impossible, I suppose. You would need supercomputers capable of reading a genetic sequence and then deciphering the exact phenotypic results."

"Alright then, let's get on that!"

"Well, someone else would have to be in charge of that," Wu says, putting his hand up reflexively, "I'm not very good with computer science."

"Very good, very good," Masrani says. "Anything else you want to add?"

Wu pauses, the word pushing against this tight lips. "Sir," he blurts out, realizing that now he's obligated to continue his thoughts. "One thing that I've been experimenting with a lot these days is hybridization through gene splicing."

Masrani nods, "Yes, I remember, your flower?"

"Right," Wu says, "And that's just the beginning. I'm really interested in pushing the envelope. I really think that I could make the next generation of animals more spectacular while also making them easier to manage-"

But Masrani is already shaking his head, "No, no, no, Henry, like I said, I want to show people real dinosaurs, as they really were."

"But sir, that's impossible-"

"Henry, yes, I know that we can't actually recreate dinosaurs, but we can at least try to show people something that better approximates the real thing. Like I said, what I love most about dinosaurs is that they were real. They stand as a testament to the ultimate creative powers of natural selection. I want to show people a little in the way of humility. If I just wanted to show them big, spectacular monsters, I wouldn't bother with dinosaurs at all." Masrani can't help but notice that Wu looks a little crestfallen. "I'm sorry Henry," he says. "I know you're really excited about your research, but that's just not the direction I want to take it right now. Maybe one day, after the park proves successful, we can talk more about hybridization. But for now, I want real dinosaurs – or as near as you can get, at the very least."

Wu gives Masrani a small smile and says, "Yes sir."

"Good," Masrani says, slapping the table. "Alright, I have to go to the opera with….oh I don't know, some foreign diplomat or something. He's either Armenian or Iranian, can't remember which one. Alright then, carry on!" And he waves before quickly shuffling out of the lab.

Wu waves back, and goes back out into the lab.

 **ONE YEAR LATER**

Wu sits across from four men. They're all white, all middle-aged (at least), and they all have bad hair. Wu is sure that they are very nice men….but he still can't wait for Masrani to show up. He has his laptop in front of him, and that's what he tries to keep his attention on.

Their attempts at making small talk had proved unsuccessful. Wu had gotten all of their names – Jack Horner, Paul Sereno, Thomas Holtz, and Phil Currie, all doctors. Now they're mostly chatting with each other in hushed voices, rattling of advanced terminology as if speaking another language. This makes it easier for Wu to ignore them. While they converse, he sets up the phenotypic visualizer program. All that's left now is for Masrani to arrive.

At precisely 1 PM, Masrani walks into the room. Glancing at each of them, he says in a friendly voice, "Hey everybody! Good afternoon, good afternoon." He approaches the four men opposite Wu, shaking each and every one as each man introduces themselves. Then he nods at Wu, and takes his seat at the head of the table. "Well, first off, thank you all for coming! I'm so glad that we could work out everyone's schedule, it's always exciting to get the top minds in the same room!" He takes the time to look at each of them, and smile. "So, unless anyone has anything to add, shall we begin?"

Tom Holtz shrugs and says in a very excited voice, "Nothing here, I'm just ready to get started!" There was a consensus of nods from around the table.

"Excellent! Henry?" Masrani says, turning to Wu.

Wu nods and turns the laptop monitor to face outwards toward everyone else sitting at the table. "This, gentlemen, is what we call the phenotypic visualizer. It scans a specific gene sequence and creates a three dimensional representation of the exact phenotypical manifestations of that sequence."

"This is where you come in, gentlemen," Masrani says. "We need you to look at these various representations and determine whether or not they match what we know about actual dinosaurs from the fossil record."

"Oh my god, this is so awesome!" Tom Holtz proclaims, slamming two balled fists on the table in sheer excitement. While the other three have more restrained reactions, they are no less enthused about the prospect.

Wu presses a few buttons on the computer, and the screen flashes with the image of a bulky, four-legged animal. The most noticeable feature of the animal is the series of large, bony osteoderms covering its back, leading down its spine and ending in a double-lobed club at the very tip of the tail. Apart from the dense covering of armor, the skin is covered in hexagonal scales tinted a slate grey on the underside. The skull tapers sharply downwards to a broad horny beak; four spikes sticking out from the corners at the back of the head.

"Ahhhh," Jack Horner says. " _Ankylosaurus_. Very good choice."

"So we're basically checking it for accuracy?" Paul Sereno asks. When Masrani nods, Sereno chuckles and says to the other paleontologists, "Wow…that's so crazy! That's crazy right?" Everyone laughs before looking back at the model.

Phil Currie says in a quiet voice, "This is a 3D model right?" Wu nods. "Can we rotate it, or magnify?"

Wu nods again. "It's a touch screen," he says demonstrating the capabilities. All four of them ooh and ahh at the touch screen feature.

Currie reaches out and zooms in on the forefeet. "Oh good," he says, nodding his approval. "The first three toes have claws, while the last two don't." He checks the back feet as well, seeing yet more accurate digit arrangement. "Dinosaur artists always screw up the feet," he says. "They usually just stick generic elephant feet on them and call it a day."

"This one's really, really good," Holtz says.

"What about the color?" Masrani asks. "Is the color right?" Apart from the slate grey scales, the larger pieces of armor are colored a dark, rusted red, while the skull ornamentation is a bright yellow.

Horner shakes his head. "Color doesn't fossilize," he says simply. "We have no way of knowing if this is _Ankylosaurus'_ true color pallet."

Holtz nods, "Right, really anything that isn't the basic musculo-skeletal system – like organs, blood vessels, behavior, etc. – we're not going to be of too much help."

"Having said that," Sereno adds, "this color scheme doesn't look implausible to me. I could see _Ankylosaurus_ looking like this." Everyone at the table nods.

"Okay then, shall we move on?" Masrani asks them

Though they all agree, Holtz asks, "How many are there?"

"8 models on here," Wu says.

"Alright, who's up next?" Holtz asks. His question is answered when the _Ankylosaurus_ disappears, to be replaced by a distinctive, long-necked animal with an even longer, whip-like tail. "Ah, of course! _Apatosaurus_!"

"This one was tricky," Wu says. "But by using different genomes from different individual Apatosaurs, the resulting chimaera more closely resembles its natural counterpart. Even then, some things didn't work out like we'd hope. For example, we know from fossils that the nostrils are on the top of the head, but they kept showing up on the end of the snout. So eventually we used some DNA from a dolphin to get it up there."

"Hmmm…." Sereno says. "I wonder….maybe that's actually right."

"But I thought the nostrils are supposed to be on top of the head?" Wu asks.

"Well, that's what we've always thought….but maybe that's wrong? Maybe the position of the nares doesn't correspond to the position of the nostrils in life?" Holtz says. There is a murmur of interest from the other three doctors.

"What should we do then?" Masrani asks.

Holtz shrugs. "Honestly, I say go for the nostrils on the end of the snout. I mean, it's just a fact, you guys are going to get some really weird stuff, stuff we'd never predict from the fossils alone. When confronted with these sorts of decisions, I say go for the more daring stuff. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the stuff you guys come up with now is then later confirmed from the fossil record. So yeah, don't be afraid to be daring."

Masrani smiles at him. "I like this! This is good, very good. Anything else about this one?"

"Hmmm" Currie says, zooming in on the skin. "This gray, wrinkly skin…where did that come from?"

"That's elephant skin," Wu says. "The exact integument is missing from all these specimens."

Sereno shakes his head. "Nah, I'd say use something else. Crocodile skin, but make it, like, more bright and colorful in some places, especially along the head and neck. Big mammals aren't a good analog for big dinosaur skin, one: because the dinosaur skin would be scaly, not naked and wrinkly, and two: big mammals don't see in color. Dinosaurs most likely could, and animals that see in color use color, and tend to be more brightly colored."

"Oh, that's good, Henry make a note," Masrani says, as Wu jots down the comment on a notepad. "Anything else to say?"

Sereno shakes his head, "Looks good to me. Body proportions are right, feet are right, yada yada yada. It's hard to mess up _Apatosaurus_."

"Okay, excellent. Let's see the next one, Henry."

With the push of a button, the long-necked giant vanishes, and a bipedal, ostrich-like creature in its place. "Oh, one of the ostrich dinosaurs!" Horner says delighted. " _Gallimimus_ by the looks of it."

"I gotta say, I'm loving the diversity of taxa so far," Holtz says, as enthusiastic as ever. The model they're looking at is covered in a thick layer of feathers, starting at halfway down its neck and continuing all the way down to the tip of its tail. The only parts not feathered are the head, the upper half of the neck, and its legs, all of which are covered in naked, pink skin.

"Oooohh, where are the feathers from?" Sereno asks, eying the model with interest.

Wu pauses before saying, "We…..are not actually sure. Given the animals body proportions we figured the best thing to do would be to fill in any gaps with those from an ostrich. Sorting the two out is a task in and of itself."

A goofy smile spreads over Holtz's face. "Oooooh, now isn't that interesting!"

"Well, what do you guys think, is it likely that this uh, this….Galli-" Masrani says, getting stuck on the word.

" _Gallimimus_ ," Currie answers for him.

" _Gallimimus_ , okay, do you think that it's likely that it had feathers?"

Sereno shifts in his seat and says, "It's really hard to say. I mean, over the last several years, we've had this out pouring of feathered dinosaur specimens coming in from China. What we've been trying to do is place them in the dinosaur family tree to see where and when feathers first appear. From there, we can point to the ancestor of feathers and say 'any animal descended from this ancestor also most likely has feathers.' That's where things get complicated."

"As far as where we're at now," Holtz says cutting in, "We do have some VERY tentative evidence of some kind of feathers in one of _Gallimimus'_ earlier relatives, _Pelicanimimus_. But that's still very controversial. Nonetheless, we have feathers from earlier, more distant relatives as well as later, closer relatives. So yeah, I'd say that, more likely than not, feathers are the way to go here. What kind of feathers is a whole other issue."

"I say stick with what you have here," Currie says. "I mean, worst case scenario, _Gallimimus_ turns out to have simpler feathers than an ostrich, in which case your animals would be slightly inaccurate, but that would still be better than a naked or scaly _Gallimimus_." The other three nod.

"So another one down then. Excellent, next," Masrani says

Wu's fingers tap on a few more keys, and the Gallimimus is replaced with another biped, this one more heavily-built, and with a fat, dome-shaped head. "Excellent, one of the dome heads!" Holtz says, clapping his hands once. " _Pachycephalosaurus_ itself by the looks of it."

"Wait a minute," Currie says, pointing at the screen, "Is that supposed to be full size?" There's a measurements tab in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, giving the animal's size as 8 ft. long. When Wu nods, Currie says, "Oh that's not right, they could get up to twice that long."

Wu puts a hand up, palm upwards, and says, "I mean….it could be the sheep DNA we put in to better equip them for head butting."

Horner shakes his head, "Oh don't worry about head butting. Pathological data suggests the domes aren't well equipped for head-on butting, like in some wild sheep species."

Wu's frustration at the nit-picking is makes by a thin smile as he says, "Okay. Anything else."

All four of them look intently at the model, but after a few seconds, they all shake their heads and give various notes of approval.

Without any words from Masrani, Wu switches to the next model, an apparently quadrupedal duck-billed dinosaur with very short forelegs and a long, backwards pointing crest. "Classic, _Parasaurolophus_ ," Sereno says quietly.

Holtz narrows his eyes, and puts his fingers to his lips. "Hmm…" she begins quietly, "All the body proportions look alright to me….the only thing worth noting is that it looks a bit fatter than I would think…"

"Is that a problem?" Wu asks.

It's almost half a minute before Holtz answers. "Well…I'm gonna say no. Now that I think about it, maybe we've been drawing dinosaurs too skinny over the last few decades? This animal just overall looks more well-fed than I'm used to seeing."

"It's interesting that you say that, because this is basically the same version of the animal we used in the first park," Wu says.

"Really?" Masrani asks. "That's very good to hear. See, if any of the original models still hold up after all this time, we plan on recapturing some of the specimens, either still roaming free on Isla Nublar, or on the neighboring island, Isla Sorna."

"Oh cool," Sereno says. "Yeah, go for it, nothing wrong that I can see." The other three all agree.

"Alright then, next," Masrani says, pushing things along.

The model of _Parasaurolophus_ is replaced with one of a pot-bellied animal with a distinctive row of pentagonal plates running down its back, ending with four spikes sticking out of its tail. The skull is tiny compared to the rest of the body, and tipped in a sharp, horny beak.

"Oh, now we're talking!" Holtz says in a surprisingly quiet voice

"Did you get- oh, yup, there they are," Horner says, pointing at the _Stegosaurus'_ throat. "You got the ossicles!"

"S-shaped neck, erect tail, plates running down in a single line, sticking out in opposite angles, just as predicted.," Currie says, mostly to himself than anyone at the table.

"This is a very good model," Holtz says. "Oh wait, hold on – looks to be about twice as big as the real deal," he says, pointing to the size chart.

"What would the correct size be?" Wu asks.

"9 meters, roughly," Sereno says. "The last thing I'll say - and this may be a developmental thing – but just make sure the tail spikes are sticking up at a more vertical angle."

Wu nods. "Anything else?"

"I know I'm good," Holtz says, looking around at the others, who all nod. Counting on his fingers, Holtz smiles, and says, "I think I know who's next!"

Holtz snaps his fingers when the next model appears; a four-legged herbivore with a large skull, backed with an expansive frill made of bone, and a total of three horns sticking from its face; two longer ones over the eyes, and one shorter one on the nose. There is one feature that draws the attention of all four paleontologists: a series of bristle-like quills sprouting on its lower back over its hips. All of their jaws hang open.

Horner is the first to speak, "O….kay….that's new."

"What are those?" Currie asks.

"No idea," Holtz says in a mixture of curiosity and excitement. "You didn't use any porcupine DNA for this one, did you?" he asks, only half-jokingly.

Wu shakes his head. "No, as far as we can tell, that's from the _Triceratops_."

Pointing at the structures, Holtz says, "See? Now this is what I'm talking about! This is something we would never have predicted based on the evidence we have!"

"When you guys make this thing, I would love to come down and get a better look at those…..quills, bristles?" Horner says.

Masrani is very excited by their reactions. "Oh, gentlemen, you will of course have every opportunity to examine all the animals in the park!"

"Okay, so yes, the _Triceratops_ is very exciting, and we all can't wait to see it alive….but unless anyone sees anything wrong with it, can we move on to the next one?" Holtz says, wriggling in his seat like a child waiting to use the bathroom.

Masrani smiles at him. "Ready to see the last one?"

"Only been waiting forty years!" Holtz says.

Masrani nods to Wu, and the Triceratops gives way to a two-legged predator standing on three-toed, clawed feet. The arms appear miniscule compared to the enormous, robust skull lined with dozens of banana shaped teeth.

Upon seeing it, all of them break into applause, Holtz clapping more fervently than any of them. "There she is!" he proclaims pridefullly.

"This is another model leftover from the previous park. We got a very good reaction to it last time, so I thought I'd try it out here," Wu says."

Holtz begins immediately. "The skull looks a little boxy, though that could just be the amount of keratinous bosses on the edges. On the whole…yeah, this looks pretty good to me. Although the arms are a little too big."

"Really?" Wu asks, noticing how small the arms look on the model.

Holtz actually laughs. "Yup! They really are very small! In addition, the wrists are actually bent in an impossible angle. Last year, we learned that for all these meat-eaters, the bones in their wrists don't allow them to rotate so that the palms of the hand face inwards," Holts says, miming the action so that his hands appear like those of a rabbit. "The palms always have to be facing each other," and Holtz holds them out as if about to clap.

"But other than, she's fine?" Wu asks.

With his arms still out, Holtz says, "Oh yeah, pretty much, yeah."

Wu turns to Masrani and says, "What do you think? Is that enough to warrant a new model?"

"Spare no expense, Henry," Masrani says, holding up a knowing finger.

Going back to a more human posture, Holtz says, "What's the alternative?"

Masrani turns to him and says, "Satellite infrareds indicate that there is one adult _Tyrannosaurus_ _rex_ on Isla Nublar. Our plan was to capture her for use in the park, but if she's not accurate, then we'll have to make a new one."

Holtz scratches the back of his head. "Wait a minute…..what's going to happen to the rex already there?"

Masrani shrugs. "She'll have to be culled."

"What?! No!" Holtz says reactively. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Masrani asks.

"Well…I mean…..okay, I guess you can, but you shouldn't! Killing off a beautiful creature like that just because her arms don't bend the right way? That's insane!"

"Well what about the rest of the animals you looked at? Many of them will also have to be culled to meet your requirements," Masrani says frustrated.

Holtz paces around the room, his three colleagues watching him nervously. After a moment, Horner perks up and says, "Hmm….maybe we could use this as a teaching opportunity? Like, you can create newer versions, and house them alongside the older versions, to show how our ideas in science change over time."

Masrani's eyes go wide and he slaps his hands together. "Oh that is good! That's a brilliant idea!"

Wu gives a small scoffing noise and says, "Good luck getting the T. rex to agree to a roommate."

"Hmm, good point," Holtz says. "How about this: let her live out the rest of her life in the park. People won't completely get the wrong idea about _T_. _rex_ just because her arms are off. Then, when she eventually dies from old age, you can introduce a new model?"

Masrani nods excitedly. "Alright, very good. I'll pass all this on to the park development team, and they can get started. Henry, I want to see new models by the end of the month. I'll make sure to email you all the finished products so you can decide whether or not they meet your expectations."

"Excellent, can't wait to see them!" Holtz says, shaking Masrani's and Wu's hands.

"And I can't wait to see the animals once they're in the park!" Sereno says, also taking their hands.

"With any luck, I should be able to offer you guys a sneak peak!" Masrani says, giving his hand to Horner.

"Thank you so much for the opportunities, you've been more than generous!" Currie says, the last to shake hands in goodbye.

As they all prepare to leave the room, Holtz turns back to Masrani and asks, "Oh, one last question: I noticed that, save the _T. rex,_ those were all herbivores….well, omnivore in the case of the _Gallimimus_ ….but yeah, why the shortage of carnivores?"

Masrani says, "Mostly it's just to give people a sense of security. After two disasters, people won't be too eager to get too close to so many meat eaters."

"It may not be that simple," Sereno says. "Herbivores can be just as nasty as carnivores, if not more so. Hippos kill more people in Africa than lions and crocodiles put together."

"True," Masrani says, "But most people don't know that. They think plant eaters are safe. It's more about the perception than anything."

"Fair enough," Currie says, "And the T. rex is there because…?"

"Because it's _T. rex_! Gotta make exceptions for the King! Or, Queen in this case," Holtz says.


	5. Chapter 4 - Not Too Close

As he approaches the doorway, he hopes that someone – any one person from the surrounding throng – will open the door for him. He carries several important documents under his arms, desperately clinging to a briefcase with nothing but the strength of his fingers. Most of the people around him either don't notice or act like they don't notice. They are of no use to him either way. Thankfully, one young woman sees him struggling as she exits from the other side, and she holds the door. They exchange smiles before he makes his way to the next door to stand in his way.

Shuffling awkwardly toward the elevator, he catches a glimpse of an open doorway and a flashing light pointing upwards. Being very careful not to drop anything, he makes his way, only to see the doors close. The people inside all seem to have their eyes on their watches…..for several consecutive seconds. Frustrated, he loses his grip, and his briefcase tumbles to the floor. The fact that it doesn't burst open, spilling important documents all over the ground is of little comfort to him. He'd give anything to shout a good expletive or two at the ceiling, but instead he settles on a heavy sigh.

He set down his several blue prints down beside him carefully so he can get a firm grip on the handle once more. Once that's accomplished, he pauses for a moment, thinking of the best way to proceed

"Need a hand?"

He looks up to see a woman kneel down and pick up some of the blueprints. He smiles when he sees her. "Ms. Martin! I'd shake your hands, but looks like both of ours are full."

She smiles back and says, "No worries. To be honest, I was just waiting for you to drop something before coming over."

He chuckles. "Well, would you mind giving me a hand? Ya know, since we're heading the same way?"

She stands up, holding half the documents under her left arm. "I can do that."

"Great, thanks!" he says, walking with her toward the elevator doors.

After a quick trip up to the top floor, they both step out toward the conference room across the hall. Stepping inside, they catch the incomparable face of Masrani sitting at the edge of the table, his hand in a bag of Doritos. Wiping his hands on a napkin, Masrani stands up and says in a voice riddled with crunching noises, "Good morning, Lilah, Mr. Mortimer!" He offers his hand to both of them, and they take it after setting Mortimer's papers down on the table.

In addition to Masrani, there's a woman sitting at the table by his side. She reaches for both their hands and says, "Good morning!"

"This is Dr. Courtney Reed from the San Diego Wild Animal Park," Masrani says, gesturing to her with a hand that still had a few flecks of Doritos dust on it. "I invited her to take a look at your designs."

"Well, before I take a look at the designs, I first want to sort of…like, get a feel for what the theme here is. Like, what are you hoping to accomplish with this park?" she asks.

Masrani spreads his arms apart, the palms facing each other. "I want the people who come to the park to go on an adventure. I don't want this to just be a zoo. You know, they look at one animal, and then look at the next, and – no, I want this to be a personal experience. I want people to experience these animals, not just see them. I want them to feel something when they're there, and when they leave, I want them to come away with a sense of just how small and new we are as a species."

Reed can't help but smile as she says, "Alright, very cool! Working for the Wild Animal Park, I can say that we agree, we want people's encounters with wildlife to be an experience they'll never forget. Our exhibits are designed to approximate what it would be like to encounter our animals in their natural habitat. This means cultivating plants they'd be likely to encounter in the wild, making sure they've got plenty of space to roam around in, shelter of some kind from the elements, and the opportunity to explore and interact with their environment."

Lilah interjects. "Well now, let's not get carried away here. These animals don't have natural habitats, or, if they did, those natural habitats are as extinct as they are. We're talking environments that don't really exist anywhere on earth today."

"But there are some things we can do to facilitate the experience," Masrani says. "Dr. Wu has already figured out how to reverse engineer extinct plant groups from living ones."

"Okay," Lilah says, "There's also the fact that most of the animals are separated from each other in time by tens of millions of years. Hell, there's more time in between _Stegosaurus_ and _Triceratops_ than there is between _Triceratops_ and today. Whatever kind of exhibits we build, I don't think we should kid ourselves into thinking that there's anything natural about it. We'd be presenting an illusion of naturalism – which is fine, let's just make sure we don't believe our own illusion."

"You're still going to want it to feel natural though," Reed says. "Not only for the aesthetic appeal to the guests, but also for the animals' mental health.

"Oh no, I agree," Lilah says. "I just want to make sure we all know that it's about that feel, and not about, like, staying 100% scientifically accurate."

At this point, Mortimer spreads out a series of paintings, as well as a physical map of Isla Nublar. He puts a finger on the Eastern half of the island. "So taking your notes from the last meeting," he says, nodding at Masrani, "We've basically divided the island into two halves. Most of the Southern half will be dedicated to park amenities, while all this-" he runs his open-palmed hand over the north and along the coasts, "-would be designated open space for the dinosaurs to roam, " he almost gives a goofy smile upon saying the word 'dinosaurs.' "That gives them Approximately 17 square miles of free space."

"Will that be enough?" Masrani asks Reed.

She gives a small shrug. "I mean, remember, I've never really dealt with animals like this before…certainly not animals this big. It partially depends on how many individuals you're going to have in the park. But really, as long as it gives them enough room to run around, get some exercise, they should be fine. The only thing to watch out for is to make sure that everyone's well fed. Otherwise, tensions may begin running high between neighbors."

"Oh they're not going to rely on the land for food," Lilah says. "It's mostly going to be grassy plains, and dinosaurs can't digest grass. We're going to cultivate special plants more akin to their natural diet for feeding purposes. It won't be perfect, but it should be good enough. But the plants will be harvested and distributed throughout the habitat. At the same time, staff will making sure to….clean up after the dinosaurs."

"Yeah, I mean sounds good to me. But yeah, you're going to have to do a lot of active maintenance to keep up with all the animals' needs," Reed says with a warning voice. "The other thing I'm wondering is how are you going to keep the animals in their designated space?"

"I would give anything to avoid fences," Masrani says, lightly tapping the table with this fingers with every word.

"They're kinda unavoidable unfortunately," Reed says.

"Well now," Masrani says, sitting up, "I was at my brother in-law's house last weekend, and he had this thing, like, with his dog. Like, they called it an invisible fence, or something, where the dog couldn't go beyond a certain set boundary point. Is there any way we can make something like that?"

Reed doesn't even notice that her jaw was slightly slack. She is trying to visualize the idea of dinosaurs fitted with invisible fence dog collars, only to be left with nothing but a blank image and a few chuckles. Eventually, she tries to actually respond, confusedly trying to find the right words. "It's not….impossible, I suppose? I mean, so far as I know, no one has ever tried to implement invisible fence technology for wild animals…certainly not for megafauana. Part of the process involves training the animals to recognize the boundaries…I can't honestly say I know anything about training dinosaurs…or even that dinosaurs can be trained….."

Lilah watches Reed, strengthening the grip she has on her pen. Her eyes narrow as she waits for Reed to just outright say that it's impossible. That it won't work, that it can't work. It would mean more money and time dumped into yet more research and development on an investment that was already rife with risk.

"But," Reed says, "I can't say it's impossible. If you give the animals plenty of space inside the enclosure, really, they'll have no need to go any further. And, if you keep these feeding stations farther into the interior of these enclosures, then the animals really won't have any desire to stray near the edges…"

Masrani claps his hands together, "Fantastic, Lilah make a note. I want more research into the widespread application of invisible fence technology on the island."

"Yes sir," Lilah says, giving a smile so transparently false that Masrani would have seen right through it, if he had actually paid her any attention. She nonetheless jots down the note on her notepad.

"And then," Masrani says, wiping his Doritos'-covered hands on a napkin before pulling out a few sheets of paper, "I had a few more ideas I wanted to bring up. Um….okay, so as far as people being able to see the dinosaurs….I thought, would it be really cool if the guests could just explore the habitat on their own? Get right up close to the animals, really get in there with them. Is there any way we can make that work?"

Reed puts up a hand and says, "Now here's where I can say that that really can't work. Wild animals need boundaries, and you really can't trust everyone to respect those boundaries. It's not safe for the people, or the animals."

"Yeah okay," Masrani continues, totally unfazed by her objections, "but I was thinking, like, we design these vehicles. The vehicles are totally self-contained; the visitors can't get out, and the animals can't get in. But they're also free roaming, so the visitors can get close to the animals without fear of harming them."

Putting both hands up now, Reed says, "You'd need viewing glass capable of withstanding the potential strike of several multi-ton animals."

"Forget that," Lilah says speaking up, "How are we supposed to make sure that guests don't make off with the vehicles, or take them into areas where they shouldn't be? Hell, how would we even make sure that the guests get back to the loading station in time for the next group to take the tour?"

"No no no, I've thought of all that," Masrani says. "We can have special markers in the habitat that guests can follow as they make their way through, eventually leading them back to the loading platform. And if any of the guests do anything they're not supposed to, we can have, like, an emergency override program built into the controls. Someone at the ride station, or from park headquarters can take control of the vehicle and bring it back to the station. The offending parties could then be penalized."

All three of them exchange looks around the table. Reed is the first to speak up. "It's…..a very inventive idea….I can't say I've ever heard of anything like it."

"I really don't think we can make it work, sir," Lilah says, almost pleadingly. "We've already sunk so much into R and D for this park, and our investors are getting antsy. I agree with Dr. Reed, it's a very….innovative idea, but it's not feasible at the moment. Maybe we can look into it down the line, after the park prove successful, but let's try to keep things simple for now."

Masrani holds his breath for a solid moment, but eventually concedes with a heavy sigh. "Alright, alright, fair enough…..so then we would just take guests out in regular tour vehicles?"

"That seems the best option," Dr. Reed says. "In addition the driver, you should have a staff member on board as an interpretive guide to explain what the guests may be seeing."

"So that covers the herbivores," Masrani says, "And what about the carnivore?"

Lilah shakes her head. "I don't think guests are going to want to get too close to a _Tyrannosaurus_. Not after what happened in San Diego 4 years ago."

Mortimer points to the center of the map. "Right, we imagined that the _T. rex_ would have its own special enclosure separate from the others. We planned to put it here, toward the center of the island, as the sort of crown jewel of the whole park." Then he unfold yet another sheet of paper, revealing detailed concept art of a huge, arena-like building. "The walls are over 20 feet tall, made of concrete with a steel support structure. Inside there will be a raised viewing area, well outside the animal's reach, in the shape of a fallen tree trunk. One-way glass will allow guests to view the dinosaur without the dinosaur being able to view the guests."

Masrani looks at the diagrams and winces in his seat. "I don't know….I feel sorry for the poor creature. Being all cramped in there…is this all necessary?"

"No one is going to come to this park unless they feel safe," Lilah says simply. "And you can never be too safe."

Reed fingers the design closer to her and looks at it half-sideways. "Hmm….I mean, proportionally, this enclosure isn't smaller than most enclosures in major AZA accredited zoos."

Masrani rubs the back of his head before saying, "Very well then…as long as this is what's best for everyone….what else is there?"

Mortimer pulls the diagram back toward himself and says, "Right, so 'T. Rex Kingdom' as we're calling it, will be located right next to the park's shopping and dining district, Main Street. On one end of Main Street will be the Visitor's Center, and on the other will be the Isla Nublar Museum of Natural History."

"Now, I know we've already talked about this, but I just have to ask again – is there really a point to having a museum of natural history on an island with living dinosaurs?" Lilah asks, trying hard not to roll her eyes.

"Because it's not enough to just see the animals," Masrani says. "I want guests to be able to understand them in an evolutionary context. Remember, we have not magically transported the real animals into the park – the creatures of the park are merely facsimiles to the real things. The museum would serve as a reminder of the reality of dinosaurs. Besides – who doesn't love dinosaur bones?"

Lilah shakes her head a little but says, "Alright, if you think so. And the resort?"

Mortimer circled his finger around the museum. "Right here. The Hilton Isla Nublar will be constructed on this side of the museum."

"And are these the monorail tracks?" Masrani asks, pointing to a line leading from the Southern tip of the island up toward the center and spreading outwards.

Mortimer nods and says, "Yup, the ferry landing is here on the Southern tip, and the monorail takes guests first to the Visitors' Center on Main Street, where they get checked in. It's just a short walk from there to the resort."

"Okay…..okay…" Masrani says, glancing at everything on the table briefly before he says, "Is that everything?"

"Just about," Lilah says. "There's just one more thing we need to work out: who are we going to get to run this place?"

ONE MONTH LATER

Masrani sits at the table, his eyes lazily drifting over the documents in front of him. He carelessly flips through each page, catching keywords as they jump out at him. Volunteer. Assistant. Manager. That last word appears at least three times at various different points. When he's finally done, he flips back to the first page, and stares blankly at the header, repeating the name softly under his breath.

"Claire. Claire, Claire, Claire, Claire, Claire…"

Lilah sits beside him, craning her neck slightly to look at the resume herself. She's read it several times already, but her attention is partly focused on Masrani's reaction. "So what are you thinking?" she asks.

Masrani sets the papers down before saying, "Well, you know me, resumes are only a starting point. There's a number of people we could hire, but we only need one. The resume really can't tell me if she's the one."

"I have a good feeling," Lilah says. "She sounded very excited on the phone, and very confident too. I like that."

"Let's hope so," Masrani says, check his watch.

At that moment, the door opens, and a young women pokes her head through. "Mr. Masrani, Ms. Martin, there's a Claire Dearing here to see you both."

"Yup, send her in," Masrani says, waving his hand toward himself.

The assistant nods, and steps back outside. Within seconds, the door reopens, and another young woman steps inside the room. Her vividly red hair is tied into a slim ponytail that stops precisely at her shoulder line. The vibrant color of her hair is all the more striking compared to her bright blue eyes, and startling white smile. She wears a spotless white blouse atop a jet black, knee-length skirt. As she closes the door behind her, she crosses her hands over her waist and gives them both a small smile. "Good afternoon Mr. Masrani, Ms. Martin."

"Claire," Masrani says, standing up to shake her hand.

Lilah watches as Claire stand perfectly still, making Masrani come over to her. Her eyebrows flash upwards for just a moment before she too makes her way to shake Claire's hand. "It's very good to see you Claire, please take a seat"

Claire takes a seat in front of the table, crossing her legs almost casually, still with only the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "Thank you both for seeing me today."

"Well, with a resume like yours, it only makes sense," Masrani says, fingering her resume with his left hand. "There's a lot on here that makes you a more than adequate for the position. We'd like to talk with you a little, see if there's anything else we can learn that might not be on your resume."

Claire appears unfazed. "Of course. What would you like to know?"

"In order to successfully manage a park like the one we're building," Masrani says, "you have to be comfortable dealing with a variety of different situations. There's maintenance, guest relations, public relations, animal care, etc. etc. Do you think you will be comfortable being able to handle all of that, and more?"

Claire seems to perk up at the prospect. "Absolutely, Ms. Masrani. I thrive under pressure, and I love to be challenged. The more things your park can throw at me, the more at home I'll feel there."

Lilah has to keep from cracking a wide smile. But inside, she's swelling with pride. This is a woman who knows what she wants. And if Lilah has anything to say about it, she'll get it.

"Okay, very good," Masrani says, glancing back down at the resume. "There were a couple of….ah, okay, here's something. So I noticed that the first facility you managed was a place called Pirates World, is that correct?" Claire simply nods. "Okay, now I did a little research, and it appears as though Pirates World shut down under your management. Is there anything you can tell us about that."

Claire blinks once, slowly, but otherwise keeps her composure. "Certainly. I'm sure that's something that must look troubling on paper, but the reason the park closed was because Disney had built a theme park of their own not far away...Mowgli's Palace or something like that...anyway, it was impossible to keep pace with Disney in the long wrong. If you'll notice, I did keep Pirates World operational for over a year after the Disney park opened."

Now Lilah's smile is visible as she nods her approval. "Now that is impressive," she says. And she's not merely referring to Clair's endurance against Disney, but also in how Claire turned an apparent failing into a sign of strength. She is good.

"Alright then, fair enough," Masrani says nodding. "Then you moved on to manager of the Boston Science Center, which is where you're at now. And yet you want to come work for us and our park...why is that?"

Claire sits up to her full height, keeping her eyes fixed on his. "When I heard that Masrani Global was opening their own dinosaur theme park, I saw it as an unmissable opportunity. There is no doubt that is going to be the most spectacular, the most luxurious, and the most advanced amusement park in the entire world. There's nowhere to go from here - this is the apex of what a park manager can hope to accomplish."

"Hmm…..I like your ambition," Masrani says quietly. "Ambition is important, but there are other things I'm looking for. Most of the facilities that you managed did not have a strong emphasis on animal care. That's something that's very important to us. You have to be able to care for these creatures, do everything in your power to make sure that they're healthy and happy. The park won't survive otherwise."

Claire moves her hands to her knees and says. "With respect, Mr. Masrani, I have to disagree. The first place I managed, the Children's Museum in West Hartford, CT, speciliazed in taking in exotic animals rescued from unsuitable conditions. We had a wealth of exotic reptiles, birds, and mammals, and I was partially responsible for rehabilitating them and in some cases, finding them new homes. The Boston Science Center also houses a sizeable collection of small animals, and although I'm not directly involved in their care, it's still important to me."

Masrani nods his head slowly. "Alright, that's good to hear. But in fairness, many of our applicants have had direct experience managing facilities more similar to the one we're building. We have one man from Busch Gardens in Tampa, another from African Lion Safari in Canada. On the surface they seem more qualified than you. Why should I pick you instead of them."

Claire shifts very subtly in her chair, like a snake coiling itself in preparation for a strike. "You'll notice that the facilities have been on the smaller side, at least compared to some of the places you just mentioned. This may seem like a hindrance. But I believe it actually makes me much more qualified. Running a small operation puts you in close quarters with both the public and all areas of staff. It gives me a better perspective of what needs to be done. When I see what I have to do, I do it. I know where best to place people to keep the facility running like a well-oiled machine. I wouldn't just sit at the top and watch as the park ran itself below me. I would be an active manager. I would try to be involved in all park operations without hijacking them. I know how much better it is to engage with people, both guests and staff."

"And you really think this is a quality that you posses that the other candidates don't?" Masrani asks.

"I can't speak for them," Claire says. "I can only speak for me and my own experiences. Maybe they do. But I know that the bigger an operation they run, the easier it is to work from afar, and to view things from a more distanced perspective. That's not how I run things, and that's not how I would run things for you."

Masrani turns his head slightly to look at LIlah, who is sitting back in her chair. She's given up on taking notes, and simply watches as Claire pontificates. She gives the woman a lot of points for eloquence. Not a word wasted.

"Okay," Masrani says after a pause, "Okay….okay, okay...well, that's all I have to say. Lilah, anything to add?"

Lilah continues staring blankly for a second before snapping out it. "Wha- oh, no, no I'm all set. Thank you for coming in, Claire. We'll try to have a decision ready for you by the end of the month."

"If you don't hear anything, feel free to give us a call," Masrani says, leaning over the table and offering his hand once more.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed!" Claire says, flashing them a grin as white as her blouse. She leans in to shake Masrani's hand, then Lilah's.

Claire gets to her feet, turns her back to them, and sees herself out. "Oh wait, one last question…" Masrani calls back to her. When Claire looks at him, he asks, "What's your favorite dinosaur?"

Claire blinks twice, facing the only question she wasn't expecting. She struggles to remember the different names, knowing that they're buried somewhere deep in the annals of her childhood memories. _What's the name of the one with the thingies on its back….._ "I…. _Stegosaurus_ ," she says simply.

"Very good," Masrani says with a nod, allowing her to leave. When they're sure that she's well out of earshot, Lilah turns to him and says, "Oh I like her."

"She's okay," Masrani says. "A bit uptight for me."

"Oh not at all, not to me," Lilah says. "This place is going to need someone that organized to keep it from collapsing in on itself. She's strong-willed, sure-footed, well-rounded. We couldn't ask for anyone better."

Masrani lets his head sway a little as he mulls the interview over in his head. "You really think she's the one?"

"Absolutely," Lilah says. "She's loads better than that guy from Busch Gardens. How he got that job I'll never know."

"Alright….well," Masrani says, getting to his feet, "We've still got three more interviews before we make a decision. But, I'll take your work on this one for now. At this moment, she's at the top of the list."

Lilah follows suit, brushing off her suit. "She sets a high bar. It'll take a very special candidate to best her."

"Masrani gives a simple shrug and says, "We shall see."


	6. Chapter 5 - Loose Ends

White foam flies of the jagged rocks rising out of the ocean as powerful waves crash down all around them. The roar of the waves is accompanied by the howling wind blustering over the surface of the water. High above the dark rocky outcrops, atop steep, long-weathered cliffs, a wall of green stands guard. The canopy flows like a green sea, driven onwards by a strong wind from the East. The rattle of leaves only adds to the cacophony of the constant gusts. Under the shadow of the tree tops, the forest below is sheltered from the maelstrom bombarding the island from without. But the howl of the wind overpowers what would otherwise have been a very lively chorus of jungle sounds. Birds chirping. Frogs croaking. Insects buzzing. The open plains are devoid of life, having been abandoned for the shelter of the trees. It would be very tempting to look upon the island in the middle of this storm and think it was deserted.

The howl of the winds is so loud that it nearly mutes the beating blades of an approaching fleet of helicopters. The tandem motor choppers are colored a slate grey, and emblazoned with the word 'Ingen' in stark white. There are 6 of them, carrying a load of 10 soldiers each. As they pass over the island, they make their way toward the center in the direction of a white water fall pouring into a pool beside an old landing pad. After years of disuse, the surrounding foliage has already begun to retake the concrete structure; cracked and rusted.

One by one, the helicopters touch down very briefly, only long enough to unload their heavily-armed cargo. Once all 60 soldiers gather in a tight formation, all of the soldiers face outwards. A tall, bulky man presses down on the radio mounted on his vest and says, "Units 1 through 6 in position, awaiting orders. Over"

"Roger that. Proceed to target, engage all hostiles. Over," a garbled voice crackles over the radio.

"Let's move out," he calls out to the others, having to yell over the wind still raging around them. They begin moving along the remnants of an old dirt road, barely visible under the layers of ferns now growing up from it. It's not long before they abandon the road and enter the shadow of the jungle.

Sheltered from the storm, things suddenly feel much quieter. Though the wind still whistles between the countless bows looming overhead, the forest floor is still and virtually silent. Keeping their hand firmly sealed around their loaded weapons, the soldiers peer through the dense layers of underbrush, looking for even the slightest disturbance. They have to restrain from shooting at the occasional dragonfly or songbird. Their tensions are all the higher since their heavy boots crashing through the underbrush is causing more noise than anything else in the forest. The crunching of leaves and the snapping of wood beneath their heels seems to carry for miles, bouncing off the surrounding trees in all directions. The near-silence is broken every once in a while by the faint cry of a far-distant animal. As they head farther North, the forest grows denser and darker, forcing them to cut their way through the layers up on layers of jungle bush.

The lead soldier feels his right foot tremble slightly as it comes down on a hard, flat surface. The barrel of his gun is down before his eyes as he prepares to engage. But he finds nothing but a flat piece of wood buried underneath scraps of dead plant matter. He kicks away the dirt and leaves to reveal a wooden sign post lying face up. There is a white icon of a boat with the words 'East Dock' written beneath it. "We're getting closer," he says to the others.

A rustling of the leaves to their right sends every weapon turning to face the same direction. All of their eyes are fixated on where they think they heard the sound come from. But all they see are seemingly empty shrubs and flowers. This does nothing to ease them, and they remain on frozen guard waiting for any other signs of movement. But with total stillness, a blanket of silence falls over the scene. Each one of them holds their breath to maintain the quiet….yet even then, a faint hissing breath creeps through the air. Zeroing in on the source, many of the soldiers catch sight of a body, obscured by dark leaves, rising and falling to the rhythm of the subtle breathing.

"FIRE!" the lead soldier calls out.

But with his shout, a dark shape darts through the bushes, racing away as a barrage of gunfire lights up the forest. The bullets fly through tender leaves and dangling vines, but the creature – whatever it is – is already long gone.

Two soldiers step forward to follow, but the lead soldier holds up a fist and says, "Do not pursue hostile targets. Proceed to your position."

"Yes sir," they both say, falling back into position. Their progress continues at a much slower rate as they scan each and every gap in between each and every leaf for any hints of a concealed presence. It takes every ounce of self control to keep them from firing wildly at the sight of a falling twig or rustling bush.

A single gust of wind to their faces causes all of them to scrunch up their faces in utter disgust. There is a collective groan of, "What the fuck is that?" The smell is pungent and over powering. Moving forward, it only becomes stronger, causing many of their eyes to water. Pushing through the bushes ahead, a cloud of black flies surrounds them on all sides, rising like a curtain to reveal a hideously dismembered carcass lying in a bloody clearing in the middle of the jungle. Patches of blood-stained scaly skin dangle off of jagged chunks of flesh barely clinging to naked bones. One of the front legs, one of the back legs, and the head are all missing. Splatters of dark gore adorn the surrounding tree trunks. The nearby foliage is broken and ravaged. Leading away from the carcass is a single set of tracks – three-toed, with sharp claws at the tips, and measuring more than a meter from the tip of the longest toe to the heel.

"Lord have mercy," the lead soldier whispers to himself upon seeing the grisly spectacle. Of all the things to find disturbing about this scene, nothing is quite as unsettling as the bright vivid color of the still-wet blood. It is all very fresh.

A sudden loud cracking sounds off from somewhere to their right, followed the dispersal of a flock of white birds.

"Let's move!" the leader calls out, and they all shuffle at a brisk pace away from the scene of carnage.

A few more hours and several miles later, over old rusted bridges spanning chasms of churning sea water, they find themselves very nearly at their destination. As one of the soldier steps in a crusty mound of dried mud, he slips on something, falling nearly face first into a bush filled with red flowers. All eyes turn on him, and even a few guns, but they soon start to laugh. "Fuck you," he says, to no one in particular, turning to see what he tripped on. Fumbling through the dirt, the finds nothing more or less than an old can of Barbasol shaving cream. "The fuck?" he says incredulously before throwing it away into a grove of ferns.

"Hey check that out," another soldier calls out, gesturing upwards with the barrel of her gun. They all look up toward a rocky ridge above the nearby road. A jeep sits on the very edge of the ridge, a toe line leading from the front of the jeep to a tree about 100 feet away. The jeep is old and rusted, gray and red paint peeling off the sides. There is some vague outline of a circular shape on the door, but it's long worn away, too much so to make out. "What do you think happened here?"

"Nevermind, come on. We're getting close," the leader calls out as they move onward to the East. Not long after that, they step out of the forest and into a flat clearing by the coast. A wooden dock stretches out into the crashing waves, standing up miraculously against the force of the ocean. "Alright, Units 1-6, set up a perimeter, 1 square kilometer out from this location. Report on your position."

The group breaks up into smaller groups of 10 and they spread out in six different directions. The leader raises his hand to a small radio mounted over his head, pressing a button and saying, "Ingen Security Team in place. You are clear for arrival, over."

"Roger, Ingen Security. Timack Construction incoming," a garbled voice calls from over the radio. "Any hostile action on your end? Over"

"None confirmed. One possible sighting, but no trouble. Over," he answers.

The signal carrying his response travels through a route connected through satellites across the sea, to a a huge ship, boldly barreling through the tumultuous waves. The ship is absolutely gigantic, out of necessity for its cargo of bulldozers, cranes, and backhoes sitting lifelessly on deck. Every piece of machinery is emblazoned with the words 'Timack Construction.' They rock slowly as the ship is hounded with the onslaught of each wave. It is nonetheless undeterred as it continues on course toward Isla Nublar

…..

He picks up a napkin and carelessly brushes away the fresh doughnut crumbs lodged in his mustache, silently cursing his decision to grow the stupid thing in the first place. But it doesn't stop him from taking yet another bite out of the glazed pastry sitting on a napkin next to his telephone. He wipes the glaze on his pants before going back to typing on his computer, looking through the emails clogging up his 'work' folder. Most of them aren't even worth raising his eyelids, but toward the bottom of the page is a single email that catches his interest immediately.

3/15/02 - Wu: Re:research.

Seizing his mouse, the file is opened within seconds. The words sound out instantly in his head.

 _Mr. Hoskins,_

 _Thank you for your interest in my ongoing research at International Genetic Technologies. I would also like to welcome you to our humble little operation. I hope you'll feel at home at the new private security division._

 _At this time, research is mostly focused into the Jurassic World project. De-extinction is lengthy and exhaustive work, requiring extensive research. Having said that, there's no telling where research may go in the future, what with the company's recent expansion. Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if we ended up working together at some point. The potential is really very exciting._

 _Hope you are well._

 _Dr Henry Wu, PhD  
International Genetics Technology  
400 West St  
San Diego, CA 92106  
(619) 867-5309_

Rocking back in his chair, Hoskins examines the email intently. In particular, his eyes hover over the bottom, at the phone number. Not a minute later, his sugar-coated finger tips are punching numbers on his work phone. The phone rings twice before he hears a voice respond from the other side.

"Good morning, Dr. Wu."

"Good morning Dr Wu, this is Vic Hoskins."

There is a brief pause followed soon after by, "Oooh yes, Mr. Hoskins how are you?"

"Fine, yeah, listen. I just read your email, and I'm still a little curious. You're telling me that Ingen isn't investigating any other uses for its biotech?"

"No, not at the moment. Recreating dinosaurs is a lot more complicated than a lot of people realize."

"Oh I'm sure, but," and Hoskins glances at the doorway briefly before continuing in a hushed voice, "you don't think that there's anything else you could be doing? I mean, dinosaurs are great and all, but you've got some pretty powerful tech over there….there have got to be other ways of using it?"

Hoskins doesn't see Wu shrugging on the other side. "Well sure. Believe me, I've had many discussions about this with Mr. Masrani. But as far as Ingen goes, Jurassic World is all he cares about...for now, at least. Plus, we have deadlines to meet. So everything we've got goes toward the park."

"Right, right," Hoskins says softly, twirling the phone cord in his fingers. "Just out of sheer curiosity, if you had your way, what would you be focusing your research on?"

"Huh," Wu says, caught off guard. "Haven't had much time to think about that...well, before we began working on the park, I was exploring the possibilities of hybridization. I was into some really interesting stuff….but it got cut off. Masrani doesn't want hybrids for Jurassic World."

"Hybrids, huh?" Hoskins asks. "What kind of hybrids?"

"Well, I only got so far as creating one hybrid flower species. Not bad for starters, but….well, you can probably imagine I've been very eager to keep going."

"Oh yeah, sure, of course," Hoskins says. "But, like, I guess….like, what would you use these hybrids for?"

"Oh any number of things. Sky's the limit really. Medicine, agriculture, recreation, surveillance, communication-"

"Defense," Hoskins blurts out, almost impatiently.

"True enough," Wu says.

"You know, I gotta say, I really sympathize, Dr. Wu," Hoskins says. "Obviously, you're a man with big ideas, but you're being leashed! That can't feel great."

Wu smiles to himself but says, "Oh it's no problem really. I'm still grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Masrani family."

"Yeah, sure, right, but…..I mean, come on…" Hoskins says, trying to coax a genuine answer out of him.

"I…..I mean, sure, it'd be great if I could work on some more things like that…"

"I'll see if I can't put in a good word to Masrani."

"Well thank you, Mr. Hoskins, I really appreciate that."

"No problem. And listen, if you can, I'd really like to stay on top of any developments in your research," Hoskins says.

"Keep on top?" Wu says, stumbling over the phrasing.

"You you know, any changes, any breakthroughs, I'd love to be kept in the loop."

Wu begins to lightly tap the top of his desk where he sits. "I can probably make sure of that…..but just out of my own sheer curiosity, why are you so interested?"

"Oh nothing really, I just like to know what's going on is all, especially since I'm gonna be part of Ingen now."

"And you're sure that's….the only reason?" Wu gently asks.

Hoskins smiles, and lowers his voice to a near whisper. "The way I see it, we're both men with some real vision, vision just sitting in the barn doing nothing. Who knows? Maybe there's some way we can help each other, what do you think?"

Wu follows Hoskins lead and lowers his own voice. "I think there's always possibility."

"Good man," Hoskins says simply. "So you'll keep me posted, right?"

"I can do that," Wu says. "For now, the next generation is incubating as we speak. They should be just a few weeks from hatching."

"Alrighty then," Hoskins says, sitting back up in his chair.

"What about you? What's the private security arm up to these days?"

"Like you, mostly focused on Masrani's glorified petting zoo," Hoskins says. "Our first arrivals made it to the island a few days ago. They're going to secure the zone around the East Dock so that it can be repaired. Once the doc's fixed, heavy machinery can be delivered to the island so we can get things started."

"What about….the local wildlife?" Wu asks.

"Well, some of them will be recaptured….any that aren't will be taken out."

"Sounds clean," Wu says.

"I'm a very straight forward man, Dr. Wu," Hoskins says, leaning against his desk. "Not one for needless complexity."

"Glad to hear it. Is there anything else you wanted to say."

Hoskins glances back at the email, scans it, and then says to Wu, "Nah, think I'm all set for now. Oh wait, wait, there is one last thing - make sure to delete the emails we exchanged."

"Of course," Wu says. A light blip sound signals his hanging up.

Putting the phone down, Hoskins turns back to his own computer. Quickly jotting down Wu's number on a sticky note, he promptly deletes their thread. 


	7. Chapter 6 - Accidents

"Merry Christmas, assholes."

Two plastic bottles of water pass from one yellow hard-hatted construction worker into the gloved hands of two soldiers standing on the edge of a forest. Five feet away, their assault rifles lay against a rock poking out of the barren dirt, both with the safety on. Within seconds of taking the bottles, the caps are off and cool, refreshing water pours down both of their gullets.

Draining nearly the whole thing in one gulp, one soldier pours the rest of the contents on his face before crushing the entire bottle in his hand. "Thanks dude," he says simply, throwing it down on the ground.

"Ah man, you know I'm gonna have to deal with that," the construction worker says, pointing to the litter.

"Tough shit," the offending sailor says carelessly.

The worker snorts before turning back to the buggy parked just a few feet away on a makeshift dirt road. With the tires digging into the road, the buggy speeds off in a cloud of dust, running along the edge of the jungle stretching across the north of the island.

"Finally," the other sailor says, finishing the last drop from his bottle, savoring the nourishing cool down his insides receive as a result of the drink. "Why can't you just be nice to the guy?"

"It's this fucking heat, Cope," the soldier says, looking toward the noon-day sun blazing down on top of them, a raised forearm casting a necessary shadow over his eyes. Beads of sweat run down his face, the only exposed flesh on his entire body. The rest is all covered in multiple layers of thick, black, protective clothing. Each black pigment in the fabric grows fat with the sunlight it absorbs from the merciless sun overhead. His armor – perfectly suited to protect him from combat – is worse than useless against the power of the sun, amounting to nothing more or less that a tight fitting green house.

"It does feel hotter than yesterday," Cope says.

"I mean, for fuck's sake, some shade, an umbrella, some chairs, anything!"

"Only a few more days, Marsh," Cope says. "Then we get coastal duty. And a nice sea breeze to go with it."

Marsh let's out an exhausted sigh as he looks out over the empty stretch of land extending before them to the South. They can see pavement being poured at one end of the site, while cranes on the other side are hauling steel girdles like Linkin' Logs. Backhoes and bulldozers flatten the land as huge chunks of earth are pulled from the ground and dumped to one side. The sound of engines firing and ringing alarms carries across the lifeless landscape all the way up to their ears. The cacophony is joined by the rising sound of beating helicopter blades. Both men crane their necks up to see a tandem chopper heading to the opposite end of the island. A tether extends downward nearly 50 feet below it, where a tarp-covered form sits precariously in a barred, steel-structure.

"Here comes another one," Cope says lightly.

"Guess so," Marsh says taking his eyes of the chopper.

"What kind do you think it is?"

"Ah who cares. You seen one giant lizard, you seen 'em all."

"Hey Cope, Marsh. You guys get water yet? Over" a voice calls over their radio intercom system.

Marsh puts a finger to his radio and says, "Yeah, just got it a couple minutes ago. Over"

"Ahh fuck….okay. Over."

"Dude must be running late," Cope says.

"Whatever."

"Say, do you know what happened to Ellis?" Cope asks.

Marsh shrugs. "Fuck if I know, dude. Not my job to keep tabs on everyone."

"Huh….guy owes me ten bucks."

"Why's that?"

"Last week, we got into a huge piss-up. He said he ride of the dinosaurs in the holding pens. I said he couldn't. Guy got kicked in the ribs the second he touched it."

"Dumbass," Marsh says with a derisive laugh and a sneer. "Maybe he got out on medical leave or something,"

"Maybe. Poor guy."

"Poor nothing. Dude, we're not here to get drunk and act like fuckin' dipshits. We're here to do a job. If dumbassesl ike him want to go and get themselves hurt, then good fuckin' riddance."

Cope rolls his eyes behind Marsh's back. He can't tell which was worse at that point - standing in stifling silence, or talking to the il-tempered mule that is Marsh. He had a feeling this would be this bad when they'd first been paired together. Marsh had a reputation.

The predicament is made all the worse by the insufferable heat. Since the trees had been cut down, there was no source of shade, save the remaining jungle mere feet behind them. But they had been advised against entering it by their lieutenant. The humidity combined with a lack of wind to create blanket of stagnant heat that was smothering them like a thick pillow on all sides. More than one soldier had succumbed to heat stroke.

A crackle on their radios. "Another sighting," a bored voice calls through. "It's another one of those brown ones."

Cope does his best to try and recall the name of the creature, having seen it once very briefly in the informational packet given to all of them by Ingen. He'd only skimmed it, but that was still more than most of the soldiers, who had it stashed away somewhere in their luggage, if they'd even bothered to keep it. Even without the name, Cope has an image in his mind of what the sighted animal looks like.

He'd seen two of them before in that last few months. All the soldiers had seen at least one, or at least it seemed that way. They were about the size of a person, a little over six feet tall, and stretching about twelve feet long. They stood somewhere in between a lizard and a chicken. The rough scaly texture of their brown skin contrasted with the lively way they moved; lightly, bobbing their heads. They stood up on their hind legs, holding their bodies parallel to the ground. As far as any of the soldiers could tell, they were meat-eaters, bearing numerous curved claws, including one particularly large, sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot. And yet despite their fierce appearance, none had made any attempts at an attack. Mostly they just stood at the edge of the perimeter, standing perfectly still and staring at the soldiers with their viper-like eyes. It was most unsettling, but no one had been hurt. After a while, they'd just turn around and head back into the jungle.

"Just the one? Over," another voice crackles over the system.

"Yeah, ju-...oh wait, no there's two of them. Over."

"You all know the deal. Log it, and keep up your guard," Marsh growls into his radio.

"Eh, whatever. These things are harmless. I'm more scared of dehydrating than I am of these things."

"Fuck yeah, I still haven't gotten any water yet."

"Me neither."

"Yeah, same here."

"Everybody just shut up," Marsh snarls at them. "He'll get to you when he gets to you. Whining about it isn't going to fix anything. And remember to stick to protocol, over."

The coms go silent soon afterwards as everyone decides to save their energy. The sun crawls ever more slowly toward the West, but no shadows are cast long enough to shade Cope and Marsh from the intense rays. It feels as if the breath from their mouths is cooler than the air outside.

After another hour, a voice blasts from the radio, "Jesus Christ! Where the fuck is this guy! I'm about to blow chunks all over the place!"

Cope looks up from vacant contemplation, even as Marsh once again says something so wonderfully charming over the radio. Being late was one thing, but it was surely over an hour at this point. Someone should have had a sign of him by now. "Marsh, I'm gonna see if I can't find the water guy."

"Whatever," Marsh says, as if not even hearing the words.

Sighing, Cope follows the tracks in the dirt road, faded though they are after so much time. Each step feels like climbing an entire staircase, weighed down by pounds of gear. Step after step brings him steadily around a curve in the road. That's when he catches sight of something - a patch of white against the green of the underbrush. Furrowing his brow, he changes course toward the strange discoloration. As he venture further through the blue veil of humidity, the shape becomes clearer. His eyes go wide and shuffles over as fast as he can. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the tracks on the road veer sharply to the right, leading directly to the disturbance: the crashed cart of the water delivery man. Closer still, another color joins the white of the car - a bright, vivid red shining in the sun beams.

He stops a few feet from the wreckage. The frame, though never quite strong, was evidently warped and bent. The steering wheel is hanging delicately from its place. Huge gashes and slash marks are gouged in the roof. Huge splatters of blood surround the scene, staining the dirt, the car, and the foliage. But most suspiciously of all - strange markings in the dusty soil all around. At first he mistakes them for the 'greater than' and 'less than' symbols in mathematics - two pronged, emerging from a single point. There are several of them, but there appears to be a series of them all heading in the same direction.

 _Are those footprints?_

After a minute of staring at the gruesome spectacle for nearly a minute, Cope calls over the radio, "All units, all units. We have a Code Red. Repeat, Code Red, in Sector 5! Marsh, report, over."

Nothing.

"Marsh, report, come in, over!"

Nothing.

"Dude, wake up!" one of the other voices from the radio calls out, but still nothing.

"...Marsh…?" Cope tentatively says into the radio, desperately wishing he'd brought his gun with him. When the nothingness continues, he bolts off back in the direction of their lookout point. The adrenaline surging through his veins blasts through the barriers of weight and heat. Within minutes, he's back where he was, staring at two lone guns, and a bloody drag mark leading into the forest, more of the strange footprints surrounding it.

_

Pounding footsteps echo throughout the hallway, alerting everyone to the approach of a raging fury. They instinctively move their backs to the walls, waiting for the unseen force to come into view. It's not long before the hulking form of Vic Hoskins comes barreling down the hall past them, like a runaway freight train. A vanilla folder is clenched in his right hand, which is swinging back and forth to the rhythm of his speed walking footsteps. His huffing breaths sound like puffs from the heart of steam engine.

A pair of doors at the end of the hall burst open as he strides in, holding up the folder over his head, ready to let loose on the board room. But where he was expecting to see Simon Masrani sitting at the head of the table, feet up and sipping a bottle of Yoohoo, he instead sees the stark, firm shape of Lilah Martin, hands folded in front of her eyes, eyes reaching all across the table toward Hoskins. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hoskins," she says with a cool tone.

His temper only rises. "Where's Masrani?" he yells.

"Mr. Masrani had pressing business to attend to in Dubai," she says vey matter-of-factly, not even acknowledging his tone. "Please take a seat."

"The hell I will!" he shoots back at her. "I am not moving from this spot until this problem is fixed!" holding the folder high overhead, he slams it down on the table, nearly spilling the contents.

"Graham," she says, looking at him. Graham nods, reaching over to take the folder before passing it to Lilah. Delicately, she opens the folder and skims the contents. Photos of men appear next to profiles filled with personal information. The same word appears in red ink at the bottom over every file: deceased. There are seven files in total.

"You haven't gotten the last two yet," Hoskins spits at her. "We only just got word this morning."

She looks back at him, saying in a low voice, "What happened?"

"Nine men." Hoskins says only those two words and nothing more for nearly a minute. "Nine men butchered in the last two weeks on Isla Nublar." His voice is now soft, but no less threatening. Board members exchange looks before waiting for more to be said. "Look in the back," he says.

Lilah fingers toward the back of the file, pulling out five photos. Vivid splashes of scarlet coat the surrounding tropical foliage as mangled bodies lay in the shadow of the forest. Three of them are so dismembered that they're barely recognizable as human. Two of them preserve a relatively in-tact face, engraved with an ultimate expression of pure terror. Torn clothes, shredded flesh, spilt organs. Lilah has to take a deep breath just to keep from retching. "What did this?" Lilah asks, valiantly trying to maintain herself.

"Oh take a guess!" Hoskins says, once more raising his voice.

"Mr. Hoskins!" Lilah says, raising her own, "I will look past your tone due to the circumstances. But as Senior Vice President of Masrani Global and acting on behalf of Simon Masrani himself, I must warn you to watch what you say!"

His lips narrow as he stares death at her, but he holds his tongue.

"Now tell me, please. Which one of them did this?" she asks, returning to a calmer voice.

"It was the….the Velo-veloci-" he begins.

" _Velociraptor_ ," Lilah finishes for him, sitting back and closing her eyes for a moment. "How many?"

"We don't know," Hoskins says. "Maybe, 10? Something like that."

"And you say this started two weeks ago?" she asks.

"Yeah," he says simply.

She stares at him for several seconds before asking, "Well, what do you want? You're the head of Ingen's Private Security division, what do you want us to do?"

"Oh believe me," Hoskins says, "I would have no desire to come running to you people if it wasn't absolutely necessary. My men have been hunting down these overgrown lizards for weeks, slowly getting picked off one by one. They can't navigate the jungle like the dinos can, not when they're fully equipped. The damn things are too fast; they got the home-field advantage."

"Again, what do you want us to do about that?" Lilah asks wearily.

"I want to firebomb the remaining forests to expose these little fuckers."

"We are not firebombing anything!" Lilah says, leaning forward in her seat. "Every damn conservation, environmentalist, and animal rights group on earth is desperate to find any way to take us down. The world is watching us like a hawk, just waiting for us to fail. If news gets out that we're dropping bombs on the island, no one is going to come to this place. We've already sunk too much into this park, we can't risk any screw ups now."

"Well you sure as hell can't run a park when it's crawling with _Velociraptors_!" Hoskins says. "And I'm not going to sit by and watch as more of my men – good, honest, brave men – are being slaughtered like animals! What are you going to do about it?"

Lilah rocks back and forth very slowly in her chair, letting out a long sigh. "You haven't been able to kill any of them?"

Hoskins pauses briefly before saying in a quiet voice, "back of the folder."

Skipping to the very back of the folder, Lilah pulls out a single photo of single carcass lying on its side on the forest floor. Unlike the photos of human bodies she'd seen before, this one was far less bloody, the only signs of mortal injury being two gaping, bloody bullet holes, one in the side, the other in the side of the skull. Blood trickles down the open wounds over the dark brown hexagonal scales covering the skin. Overall, the creature looks like a gigantic lizard, stretching over teen feet long from the end of its narrow snout to the tip of its long, then tail. Powerful limbs are tipped with several long, curving claws, the biggest of which being a huge, sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot. The jaw is slightly slack, revealing dozens of need-like like teeth pointing backwards in the mouth. On it side, only one eye is visible, staring lidless upwards toward the sky; yellow, with a viper-like slit pupil.

"How'd you get this one?" Lilah asks him.

"Lucky shot," Hoskins says. "It's not that they're hard to kill. Get one bullet in one and they go down. The trouble is getting a clear shot. They're fast little fuckers…and stealthy too. Most of the victims never even report seeing one before it happens."

"Maybe you could try luring them out into the open?" one of the board members suggests.

"You don't think we tried that?" Hoskins snaps at the gentleman. "The damn things are too smart….they know that the jungle gives them the edge. They won't leave it. Then when we go in, we get massacred."

Lilah raises an eyebrow. "So the raptors only go after you when you go into the remaining forests?"

"Yeah," Hoskins says, nodding.

"Why is this happening now? Constructions been going on for over a year, why are the raptors suddenly attacking?" yet another board member asks.

"I uh…I think I might be able to answer that," Graham says, pulling out a brief case. As he opens it, he says, "To be honest, I was worried that something like this might happen."

Hoskins shoots him a look. "You knew this would happen?"

Holding up a hand, Graham says, "That's not what I said. I said I thought it might happen." He pulls out an image. "These are infrared images taken from the Glinda satellite in orbit taken in 2001 of the island." He slides the image over to Hoskins, who picks it up briskly and begins examining it. "If you'll notice, the key indicates the raptors are concentrated in the North of the island, most likely around their nesting and hunting grounds."

"You think that they're attacking because we've invaded their territory?" Hoskins asks.

"Right," Graham says. "And now that we've removed a good portion of their food supply….we've made them desperate…."

"I don't like the sound of that," Hoskins says quietly.

"If we keep pushing further North, the attacks are only going to get more frequent….and nastier…." Graham says.

"Then let's get rid of them all!" Hoskins says, raising his voice again. "You don't want bombs? Okay, lets gas them out. Anything! Let's just get this done!"

"I told you, we can't do anything that will alert the mud-slingers," Lilah says. "We'd be finished. It'd be a PR nightmare."

"Right, as opposed to the actual nightmare it is for my men!" Hoskins says. "Listen to me – you're either going to fix this problem, or I'm pulling my forces off of that goddamn island!"

"You can't do that!" a voice cries out, a voice belonging to the head of Timack construction. "What would happen to all of the workers there?"

"They'd know what my men have been going through the last two weeks, that's what!" Hoskins says to him, smiling menacingly.

"Okay, look, everybody just calm down," Lilah says, putting her hands up. "We will think of something."

"Damn straight!" Hoskins says.

"Hm…let me see that image," she says to Hoskins, gesturing to the satellite image. When she has it in her hands, examining the regions indicating the raptor nests, she hands it back to him and says, "Can you mark where the attacks have taken place?"

"Got a pen?" he asks her.

As she looks at the spots on the island where he's marked, she nods slowly to herself. After about a minute, she says, "Okay. Okay. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to push back one half mile from the attack points. We'll build a wall, fifty feet tall. The raptors can stay on one side of the wall, in the North, and the rest of the island will be ours."

"What?!" Hoskins nearly shouts at the top of his lungs. "A wall? That's the best idea you can think of?"

"At least I have ideas," she says in a smooth voice. "The raptors aren't killing your men for the hell of it, they're doing it to protect their territory. I say, we give it to them. If we don't bother them, they won't bother us."

"How can you possibly be okay with those….things being allowed to live on the same island as a bunch of tourists?" Hoskins asks.

"That's what the wall is for," she says, nearly rolling her eyes. "Look, our options here are limited. Exacerbating the raptors is only going to make things worse, and we can't go through with a mass killing. Unless these things can fly, or smash through steel, then a wall should be more than enough to keep them and the guests from ever seeing each other."

"This is fucking ridiculous-"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Lilah shouts back at him, causing him to actually take a step back out of surprise. "The situation isn't exactly ideal, but it's the best we can do."

"No one is going to go to an island with wild dinosaurs running around outside the park!" Hoskins says.

Lilah purses her lips and says, "That's why no one is going to know about them." She looks around the table at each and every board member. "I don't think we need to bother anyone outside this room with this little unexpected turn…and that includes Masrani. Do we all understand?" There is flurry of nods from around the table.

"Isn't it going to be suspicious if we cordon off nearly half the island from the guests?" Graham asks.

"That's the best part," Lilah says. "We can say that we're turning the North of the island into a nature preserve for Isla Nublar's indigenous plants and animals. That will even help us to ease the concerns of the tree-huggers."

"I still don't like the idea of those things being allowed to live," Hoskins says.

"Take it or leave it, Hoskins," Lilah says, folding her hands together.

He stands there, in front of the board, tapping his foot and fiddling with his tongue inside his mouth. After nearly a minute of just standing there, he says, "Alright….alright fine. I'll go along with this for now. But I'm warning you – if even one of those things makes it across that wall. If even one person gets so much as a scratch, I'm going to raise some serious hell about it. And it'll be all your fault."

"Duly noted," Lilah says. "Anything else?"

Hoskins says nothing. He collects his folder and storms out of the office in no less of a huff as when he first entered.

"Does anyone here have anything else to say?" Lilah says, turning to look at all of them.

"Won't we have to reorganize the structure of the park with this new development?" Graham asks.

"Don't worry too much about that," Lilah says with a wave of her hand. "We didn't really have much planned for that part of the island anyway. Mostly we left it open to give us room for expansion should the park prove successful. It'll be fine."

"And how are we planning to keep this from Masrani?" Graham asks, lowering his voice.

Lilah laughs once and says, "Oh that'll be easy. Masrani's so diversified he doesn't even know half of what he owns. As long as we keep this quiet, don't give him any reasons to be suspicious, he won't go snooping. Besides, if he genuinely believes that we're making a nature preserve then it'll be easy to convince others. The best way to lie to others is to lie to yourself first."


	8. Chapter 7 - Tears of a Dearing

She rummages around in her purse, fingers digging past her wallet, car keys, and assorted rubbish. She finally closes her fingers around the small scrap of paper, lying half crumpled by a unopened pack of mint-flavored bubblegum. Setting her purse down on the counter, she flattens out the paper and lays it out next to the itemized receipt. Her eyes dart back and forth from the scrap paper to the receipt, mentally checking off every order as it appeared on both records.

 _Two large chicken fingers. Crab Rangoon. Sweet and sour pork. Chicken chow mein. Three pork fried rice._

Everything just about checks out, save one detail. "Oh can I get some extra duck sauce please?"

The man behind the counter nods silently, dropping two more cups of pale pink sauce into one of the two plastic bags sitting on the countertop. "Total is $49.58, you pay cash or card?" he says with a noticeable Chinese accent.

"Card," she says, handing him a blue Visa frayed at the edges. While he runs the payment through, she swings her purse over her right shoulder, taking back the card, and grasping both of the bulky bags in her left hand.

"Sign please," he says, handing her one of the printed copies. Using her remaining hand, she scribbles something which may or may not read 'Claire Dearing' depending on the lighting and the angle. She drops the pen, gives him a smile in place of a 'thank you' and takes one of the bags in her right hand.

As she pushes against the entrance door to the parking lot, a sound rings out from somewhere in her purse. "Oh shit!" she whispers to herself as the ringing of her cellphone grows louder. Still awkwardly holding the orders in both hands, she shuffles briskly over to her car to set them down for a moment. The race is on to pick up the phone before the call runs through. She hesitates to place the bags on the ground, the pavement still quite damp from a misty rainfall that finished about a half hour ago. But sensing the fleeting moments until the window of opportunity will close, she plops them down and begins rummaging through her purse. The instant her fingers wrap around the flip phone, the ringing stops. "Goddamn it!" she says, already composing her explanation to the board about why she didn't pick up.

But when she flips open the phone, she sees that it isn't any of the board members that had just called her. She breathes a small sigh of relief, and redials the number. After two rings, she hears a voice say from the other side, "Hello?"

"Karen! Hi, it's Claire."

"Hi Claire, how's it going?"

"It's going...it's going, going good, yeah. How have you been?"

"Ugh crazy, but I guess I don't need to tell you."

"Yeah, right, right," Claire says absentmindedly, checking her watch briefly. "So what's going on, I just saw that you called me, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, no, everything's fine. I just, I saw your interview a couple days ago on CNN, and I wanted to check in, see how you were doing. You know, because we haven't seen each other in forever, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah….well, any chance we might do this maybe….like, maybe Friday? I'm actually just out for a second to get dinner for a big board meeting."

"Oh come on, Claire," Karen says, in an almost pining voice. "Just a minute or two? We can talk more later sure, but I'm just really curious as to what you've been up to."

"I know, I know, and I'm really sorry, but…" she glances back down at her watch, takes a deep sigh and says, "Oh...alright. But only two minutes. They're gonna wonder where their dinner is."

"Okay sure, thanks. So, um….how's the park going?"

"Great, great, construction is just about finished, and the park officially opens in about a year."

"So everything's been going alright? No problems, or…?"

"Karen!" Claire says sternly.

"Well, I can't help it!" and she actually laughs. "Sorry, it's just...you know, you read things, you see things on TV, and it just, it gets to you, ya know?"

"Well, you shouldn't believe everything you hear, you know," Claire says, putting her elbow in her hand.

"So are you going to be living on the island, or...how does that work?"

"Yeah, actually, I am. I get my own suite at the Hilton. It's nice….or, that's what they say anyway."

"Ugh, lucky. It's gonna be fabulous, I just know it. So you're gonna give us free tickets, right?"

"I'd better damn well be able to. How are Scott and Zach?"

"Um…" Karen pauses. "Zach's doing well, he starts school in a week."

"Oh nice! Is he excited?"

"He is," Karen says, "I just wish Scott was too. He got all nervous about it a few months ago, wanted us to keep Scott back a year, didn't think he was ready."

"Why's that?"

Karen shrugs. "Beats me. Zach will be just fine. He's never had problems with other kids. And god knows they've never had any problems with him. I swear most of the kids that come over are only ever here so that they can play with Zach's dinosaur toys."

Claire giggles softly. "Just wait till they learn that his aunt is in charge of the greatest theme park in the world, and get him free tickets whenever he wants. He's going to be very popular."

"Hey now, let's get carried away," Karen says. "Park may be free, but airfare to Costa Rica still isn't cheap you know."

"Oh please, I run what's gonna be the most successful park in history. I'm sure I can spot you the plane tickets."

"Hey now, don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Karen, they've already hatched. I've seen them. Trust me, this place is gonna be big."

"Alright, if you say so."

Claire glances back down at her watch. "Oh Jesus, sorry Karen, I gotta go."

"No no, it's alright. No worries. We'll talk again….Friday did you say?"

"Yeah, Friday. Maybe Friday, I might have another interview to get to, but I promise I'll try to work around it."

"Okay, bye Claire. Take care."

"Bye," Claire says simply before flipping off her phone and sticking it back in her purse. She delicately packs the food into the passenger seat of her car and drives off.

As Claire walks into the room, she nearly does a double take. There are two people sitting at the table, and they couldn't seem more diametrically opposite if they tried. To her left sits a young woman, dressed impeccably in a blue blouse over a lighter blue undershirt. Her wavy brown hair drapes elegantly over her shoulders, which define her narrow, gracile form. She has a fine layer of makeup on, just enough to highlight her features, but not enough to distract from them. Just entering her twenties, there isn't the slightest crease in her skin. She sits straight up, hands folded on the circular table. When she sees Claire, she smiles and says, "Good afternoon!" in the most calculatingly pleasant voice possible.

Sitting next to her is a slightly younger man wearing glasses. His face is covered in a 5 O'clock shadow, save for a light mustache that spreads right to the edges of his mouth. In contrast to her lively professional attire, he is wearing jeans, and a T-shirt bearing the phrase, "I Survived Jurassic Park, and all I got was this T-shirt." At least the shirt is tucked in. Though neither woman can see, there is a dark brown stain on the buttocks of his pants, the remnants of a chocolate doughnut eaten earlier in the morning. Though he sits up when Claire enters the room, he had very clearly been slouching beforehand. All in all, it appeared as if he had just rolled out of bed before coming to the interview, an image all the more embellished by his notable bed head. Upon seeing Claire, he says - after a single snort - "Oh hey, Claire."

Claire smiles at both of them and says, "Lowery, Vivian thank you for coming! The timing was really sort of...well, kinda crazy to be honest, but you're here, and that's all that matters now!" Claire takes a seat in front of them, putting down the manilla folder from under her arm. "Okay, right. So, the good news is that we have two available positions, so if all goes well, you two might just be working together!" Claire notices that Vivian's eyes flash briefly toward Lowery, at which point her smile also wavers for a fraction of a second. "The bad news is that we have a lot of other contenders, so…..well, it might not be either of you…" She tries to give them a reassuring smile, but decides the best thing to do is to continue the interview. "Anyway, moving on….let's see….okay, the first thing they wanted me to ask you guys is, 'why do you want to work at Jurassic World?' but personally, I think that's kinda redundant. I mean, who wouldn't want to work at Jurassic World, right? So, instead, I'm going to rephrase the question a little bit. If you are hired, what would you be looking forward to most about working here? Vivian, let's start with you."

Vivian sits up and blinks a few times before starting. "What I find most exciting is just, kind of, the day to day sort of activity that I - or anyone - would be likely to encounter. I think it'd be absolutely fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes of the world's greatest theme park. What sort of challenges would I face, what would it be like to try to organize so many different things going on simultaneously? Not to mention, the series of utterly unique challenges and opportunities that would come from working in a facility like Jurassic World."

"Okay, very nice, very nice," Claire says, smiling as she jots down more than a few positive notes down on a notepad. She can't help but see parallels to her own Jurassic interview. "Well, if you're looking for challenges, you're definitely in the right spot. You would be working at Park Control, basically acting as the nexus of the entire park. Your job would be to coordinate and organize everything going on at the park. So, for an example….let's say that, while out in Gallimimus Valley, a younger child throws their sunglasses out of the jeep, and one of the Gallis comes along and eats them. The interpretive guide on board would have to report the incident to you, and then you would have to relay that to both the veterinary unit and guest relations.

"Alright then," Claire says, turning to Lowery and she says, "Lowery - same question."

Sniffing a little and sitting up a bit straighter, Lowery says, "Oh uh…..okay. Well..first off, I just want to say that I have been just….completely obsessed with the Jurassic Park legacy. I followed the whole thing when it came out in 97. I have my own amber collection, and I even bought something from the original Jurassic Park gift shop on eBay; a stuffed saber toothed tiger. Last week, a bunch of friends of mine got together and watched videos online of people who sneak onto Isla Sorna, and-" he stops as he looks more closely at Claire, staring at him with eyes daring him to say anything more. "But, yeah, working for a new Jurassic Park would be a dream come true."

"Well….as much as we...appreciate your enthusiasm," Claire says to him, "I should probably mention that really, Jurassic World is looking more toward the future than the past," Claire says, pausing for a moment to appreciate the irony of that statement, "But….okay, you've got the passion. That's good, good," Claire says, pulling out his resume to salvage some positivity. "Ah, so you're an MIT graduate I see. Good with computers I take it?"

"Oh yeah," Lowery says, nodding. "When I was 18 I assembled my first hard drive. It still works too...I mean, that's not my main computer, I have other for things like gaming and other stuff, but it's still functional."

"Okay," Claire says, jotting down a note or two under his name. "Now Lowery, would you consider yourself an organized person?"

He leans forward, smiling, and says, "Funny you should mention that. By any chance, have you read Dr. Ian Malcolm's _God Creates Dinosaurs: Complexity Theory and the Ingen Incidents_?"

"I have not had the pleasure."

Lowery gives her a confused look. "Wait, didn't Carl give you a copy for Christmas?"

Claire's eyes dart from her notes to his face. The gaze of her icy blue eyes nearly stabs him, but she keeps from forming an overtly angry expression.

The pause that passes between them catches Vivian's attention. "Wait, wait…..sorry to interrupt, but...do you two know each other?"

Giving one of the most painful smiles she's ever given, Claire says, "Yes, actually. Lowery's stepfather and I used to work together at the Museum of Science in Boston." Claire notices Vivian's eyes lower slightly as she squirms in her seat. "But nevermind that now," she quickly says, "Don't worry, I assure you both that whoever gets the position, it will be based entirely on qualifications and nothing more!" she scribbles down a quick note on the side of her note pad.

 _NOTE TO SELF: KILL CARL._

Looking back up at Lowery, and trying very hard not to let her frustration show in her voice, she says, "As you were saying, Lowery?"

Lowery stares vacantly at her for a few moments. "I don't…..oh wait! Right! So, uh….in the book, Dr. Malcolm talks about something he calls the edge of chaos. In complex systems, and in particular, living systems, there are a certain number of uncontrollable factors happening at once. They inherently unstable and unpredictable, and yet because they are reliably unstable and unpredictable, they can be managed without the system collapsing into total disarray. That's the edge of chaos, the balance in between order and anarchy. In order to function properly, Jurassic World would have to strive to remain on the edge of chaos, and that's the job of park control."

Claire is frozen in place, jaw slightly slack as she struggles to understand what he means. "Um….okay…...so what exactly are you saying….?"

"Um….okay, let's see," Lowery says. "Oh I got it. Uh, remember what you said before about the _Gallimimus_ eating the kid's sunglasses?"

"Right."

"That's a perfect example right there. You can't control either the kid or the dinosaur, so that's an example of the park's inherent chaos. But that's what park control is for - to be able to keep that from spiraling completely out of control."

"Okay…..okay, okay," Claire says, slowly starting to nod as she takes it in. "An...interesting way to put it, but I can see where you're coming from." Claire briefly glances over at Vivian who has an expression on her face that could be best be described by three letters. _WTF?_

The interview continues at pretty much the same pace and tone for another hour. Claire is grateful for Vivian's presence. She is unsure of how she would have handled Lowery's eccentricity if it had just been the two of them. Vivian provided a breath of fresh air in between questions.

When the interview is over, Claire shakes both of their hands, bids them a fond farewell, and watches each step they take toward the elevator, counting them like seconds, waiting for the doors to close behind them. When she knows they are out of earshot, she spins around and shuffles to her office with the most distressed groan ever uttered in that hall.

At the door to her office, a tall woman with long raven hair stands attentively, holding a cup of Starbucks coffee. When she first sees Claire, she smiles and prepares to hand her the coffee, but upon seeing Claire's frantic shuffling, she instinctively recoils. When Claire approaches her, the woman says - in a pronounced London accent - "Um….got your coffee…"

"Oh, thank you so much, Zara," Clara says, taking the coffee, throwing it and her head back to take one big long sip, before promptly throwing it in the trash bin, only half empty.

"Um….." Zara says.

"Sorry, Zara," Claire says, moving through the threshold into her office. Zara follows her in. "Coffee is tensing, I need something soothing…...do you know anyplace around here that sells tea?" Claire asks as she takes a seat.

Shrugging, Zara says, "I….can find a place...but what's the matter? Interviews didn't go well?"

Claire slouches forward, resting her forehead in her right hand. Sighing heavily, she says, "I just got out of the most awkward job interview in my life…"

"Really? Even worse than the one you gave for that job in Pirates World?"

Claire shakes her head. "No, no, that was just…..weird. This was down right uncomfortable."

"Well, what happened?"

"Okay…..remember what I was telling you about a couple weeks ago? About that guy at the Boston Science Museum?"

"Oh yeah, right, right, the guy you owe?"

"Right. Well…..to pay him back, he wants me to hire his stepson for the position of Park Control Supervisor. The interview was today, and it was with another potential candidate."

"Oh dear…." Zara says, crossing her arms.

"So right in the middle of the interview, he blurts out that we know each other! Or….that, I know someone that he knows, or….something, you get the idea. The point is, the other one, Vivian, was uncomfortable throughout the rest of the interview."

"Are you going to hire him?" Zara asks.

"I mean….probably? He's….he's a weird one. I swear I had to ask him to repeat things at least 10 times...but, on the other hand, he's an MIT graduate, a real whiz with computers, and he does seem genuinely really passionate about working for us...almost frightfully so…"

"Oh...well, that doesn't sound too bad, then."

"It more has to do with Vivian," Claire says. "She's such a sweetheart, I feel like her spirit was crushed when she heard that Lowery and I were mutual acquaintances. Now I feel like I have to hire her…..I mean, I was probably going to hire her anyway, because she's brilliant and professional and I think she'd do fantastically at Jurassic World...but now I feel I _have_ to. I hate the feeling…"

"Well then, just hire both of them!" Zara says, putting her hands up. "Problem solved. So Lowery's a bit of a…..let's say, nutter. Either way, sounds like the positions are filled. One less thing to worry about, yeah?"

"Yeah….I know, you're right," Claire says, leaning backward. "I just hate situations like that...it's bad enough I have people like Vic Hoskins to deal with...is it so much to ask that people practice basic _common sense!? Just once?!_ "

Zara drops her arms to her sides, and walks slowly around to behind Claire's chair. "I know, I know it can be so hard dealing with people who don't know what they're doing." As she stands over Claire, she reaches down and places a single soft hand on Claire's shoulder. Claire tenses up at first, but relaxes as that soft but firm grip runs from her shoulder across to her neck.

Claire smiles warmly and sits back in the chair. Eyeing the door to her office briefly, she says in a soft voice, "Are you still planning on coming over tonight?"

"I'm wherever you want me to be," Zara says, returning the soft, crooning voice.

Claire closes her eyes, savoring the touch of Zara's fingers. "Can you go get me some tea, please?"

"Sure thing," she says, making her way toward the door. Before she grasps the handle, she turns to Claire and says, "Oh, before I forget. Your sister called. She wants you to call her back as soon as you can. Sounds like it was an emergency."

As Zara clears the room, Claire slams her forehead down on her desk as she proclaims, "Ah, fuck."


	9. Chapter 8 - Journey to the Island

Airports aren't exactly hard to miss. Claire and Zara can see it from their cab about mile before the exit ramp. It's hard not to notice when multiple aircraft keep landing and taking off from the spot just up ahead. The day is ambiguous - dark, thick clouds loom over them, and yet with enough space in between them for the sun to shine through. It is a warm, uncomfortable humid afternoon, made all the more unpleasant by the business casual attire of both women.

When the cab pulls off the highway, Zara reaches into her purse and pulls out a small tin of Altos mints. Quickly popping one in her mouth, she puts in back in her purse. Claire notices, cocking an eyebrow and smirking. "Are you gonna offer me one?" she asks almost playfully.

Zara rolls her eyes with a smile. "You know, Claire, suggesting that your superior needs a breath mint isn't exactly a clever business move."

Claire can't help but giggle, even as she remarks, "Right, because you and I have engaged in all kinds of well-thought out 'business moves.'"

"Claire!" Zara says in a hushed voice. "Don't!"

"Zara, come on. Being cautious is one thing, but there's no one else here right now," she says, before leaning forward and lightly pecking Zara on the cheek.

Zara slaps her hand to the spot, saying, "Oh my god, Claire, no, stop!" Sitting up and suppressing her smile, Zara says, "I'm trying to prepare myself for when I meet Mr. Masrani."

"Alright, sorry to break your focus," Claire says, leaning back to her side of the cab. "You know, I keep trying to tell you, it's not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. Masrani is a very relaxed boss. Half the time I think he forgets that he's the CEO of one of the biggest conglomerates in the world."

"Nonetheless, it always helps to be prepared," Zara says, applying a light layer of cherry chapstick to her lips. "You of all people should know that."

"Good to know you've actually been listening all that time," Claire says. As they approach the white zone, Claire lets out a quiet cry of, "Jesus Christ," burying her face in her hands as she sees a swarm of protesters congregating around the entrance to the airport. The group isn't huge, only about 30 people or so, but that fact is of little comfort to Claire as she slouches down in her seat. Even as they're still pulling in, the group epitomises all of the cliches and tropes of college-age protesters railing against things with which they are only partially aware. But the lack of a full understanding does nothing to quell their righteous fury as they shout out demands to no one in particular, waving signs with half-baked slogans written on dollar store cardboard with 99-cents store markers. The group is obviously ill organized, as the signs cover a variety of only disparately-related concerns. "Capitalism kills!" "DiNO! - respect all creatures!" "Say no to FRANKEN-SAURS! GE dinos not okay."

"How are we going to get past them?" Zara whispers to Claire.

Glaring at the protesters while contemplatively sucking on her tongue, Claire slowly nods. "Okay….okay…..I think I know."

As the cab comes to a stop by the sidewalk a short distance from the protesters, Claire quickly looks around to make sure no cameras are out. After paying the driver, she and Zara get out (their luggage having arrived on the island the day before). Claire leans over to Zara and says, "follow my lead."

Claire grabs Zara by the hand and pulls her close. "Claire - what are you doing?" Zara asks, looking around.

"Trust me," she says, walking forward with Zara in hand. As they approach the front doors.

For the most part, the protesters seem to ignore the two women. But just as Claire's about to reach the door handle, one of the protesters shouts out, "THERE SHE IS!" Suddenly, the pair is swarmed by angry faces, shouting incomprehensible damnations upon both of them. They wave their signs furiously, almost threateningly, causing Zara to flinch at every turn.

Claire looks utterly horrified and confused, her mouth hanging open with quivering lips. Within a few moments, tears begin streaming down her face as her sobs are drowned out by the din of the crowd, The people closest suddenly go quiet, the other around them following suit after about 5 minutes. Claire continues to weep as the rabble goes quiet. "I don't understand!" she says between sobs, "What did we do wrong?"

The protesters all look at each other with confused - and somewhat guilty - looks. The man who was the first to point them out says to her, "You're-...aren't you Claire Dearing?"

"Wha- I, I….no! My name is Taylor Howard!" Claire stammered, staring to sound angry. "I was just trying to catch a flight with my life partner," she says, gesturing to Zara, "It's sort of our honeymoon, unofficially," she adds with a sniffle.

The signs go down as heads hang low. A few of them shoot angry look at the original shouter. He goes red in the cheeks as he says, "Oh, uh...sorry about that. We thought you were somebody else…"

Claire wipes a tear from her face as she says, "Can we just go now, please?" The crowd parts in front, and Claire and Zara pass unhindered through the front doors.

Only after they've turned at least three corners does Claire let go of Zara's hand and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Jesus that was close."

Zara just stares at her, almost dumbfounded, before saying, "You clever, clever girl, that was why you got a haircut yesterday, and didn't wear makeup this morning!"

Smiling with personal contentment, Claire says, "Of course. I had a feeling people like that might show up, so I made a few cosmetic adjustments. I thought about dying my hair as well, but...well, let's be honest. I wouldn't have needed to go that far."

"Clearly not," Zara say, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching them. "But...in the interest of sheer academic curiosity, why did you make me your...life partner?"

"Oh please, you know those kinds of people. Well-meaning liberals who traded critical thinking for a bleeding heart long ago. Skepticism is so heteronormative," she says, the final sentence dripping with sarcasm.

"And you're sure that's the….only reason you added that part?" Zara asks, cocking her head to one side.

Looking up at her, Claire simply says, "Whoa. Easy girl," before they continue on their way.

It wasn't long after check in that Claire and Zara finally caught sight of Masrani and Lilah. They were standing by the boarding platforms, engaged in a conversation of their own. Masran is the first to see them, and he waves them in with a smile. "Claire! There you are!"

She shakes his hand before turning to Lilah to do the same. "Mr. Masrani, Ms. Martin. This is my assistant, Zara."

"Hello Zara," Masrani says, shaking her hand as he had Claire's not a moment earlier.

Zara nearly freezes up when she sees the extended gesture. But working up her nerve, she receives it and says. "G-Good afternoon, Mr. Masrani. I'd just like to say what an honor it is to m-to finally meet you." She smiles almost fearfully.

Masrani smiles at her warmly. "I look forward to getting to know you. But that's what the ride is for. Come, let us delay no further! To the chopper!" he proclaims, holding up an excited finger. He leads them, his strides so long he almost seems to be skipping like an ecstatic schoolboy on his first day of school, getting ready to ride the bus for the first time. "So how did you get past the protesters?" Masrani asks, as if he had simply asked them if they'd had lunch.

"I pretended to be somebody else," Claire said. "I got a haircut last night, and didn't wear makeup this morning, and they were unable to recognize me from my TV appearances."

Lilah laughs. "Really? They didn't recognize you?"

"Well, they're not exactly the brightest folks in the world, now are they? How about you?" Claire says.

"Security escort," Masrani says. "It was a bit much, but we got in."

It isn't long before all four are sitting comfortably in a small helicopter. Even as the blades begin whirling at incredible speed, the passenger section remains quiet. Lilah sit across from Claire, who sits next to Zara. As they feel the rumble of the engines all around them, a slight jolt signals take off. The world around them begins to sink beneath the windows, everything outside growing small and blurry as they climb higher and higher into the sky.

"So how's your mother, Claire?" Masrani asks, initiating chat.

"Oh, she's fine, last time I checked. Admittedly that was about a week ago, but I haven't heard anything from anyone, so i assume her condition is stable."

"What happened to your mother?" Lilah asks.

"A few weeks ago, she suffered a brain aneurysm. She's been in the hospital ever since."

"Oh..I'm sorry to hear that," Lilah says, almost obligatorily. She glances down at her watch.

"Yeah, well-" Claire begins with a shrug before pausing. "It is what it is. At least her condition is stable, and hopefully on the road to recovery."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Masrani says, waving his hand. "This is your week, Claire. Your moment of triumph is at hand!"

Smiling nervously, Claire says, "Careful, Mr. Masrani, there's no wood to knock on in here."

Turning to Zara, Masrani says, "So, Zara, how do you like working for Claire?"

Zara nods to him and says, "It is a very rewarding experience. I'm learning so much every day."

"Yeah? She's not a real slave driver?"

Lilah can't help but notice the expressions that flash very briefly over Zara and Claire's faces. Their tongues seem very tightly held by their teeth. But it passes very quickly and Zara answers him. "Not at all. It's a privilege to work at her side."

"Fantastic," Masrani says. "Not surprising of course. Claire's personability was one of many reasons why we chose her to run this park."

"Let's hope it was a wise choice," Claire says, looking wistfully out the window. The coast is now well behind them, the chopper flying low and fast over the Pacific.

"You really should have more confidence in yourself Claire," Lilah says, putting her hands over her crossed legs.

"I know, it's just….I've been having bad dreams. Very bad dreams."

"Oh?" Masrani says, leaning in. "What kind of dreams?"

"Dreams involving T. Rex Kingdom," Claire says. "Usually, in the dream, a kid runs into the control room and activates the emergency paddock release function, releasing the T. rex….as well as the giant anteaters…" the last comment elicits a strange look from Masrani. "Well, it's still a dream after all…"

"Ah, right," Masrani says. "You know, some people think dreams are prophetic. But they're wrong."

"I certainly hope they are," Claire says, chuckling.

"Life is like a great river," Masrani says , holding up his hands. "And we're all caught up in its current. There's no going back, and if you're not careful, you might smash into a standing rock or two. The only way to truly live this life is to accept that you're not in control of the river. The only thing you can control are your actions, and once you realize that, then you can start making the choices that influence where the river takes you."

Zara leans forward in her seat, captivated by each word. LIlah on the other hand conceals a tired yawn.

The ocean stretches below them like a great, blue desert flat; devoid of any discernable features. Hours of frivolous chatter eat up the time covered over the sea. The only thing to break the monotony was the occasional sea bird passing by. Apart from that, there was nothing but the sleeping ocean, with the soundtrack of constant, beating blades.

There wasn't a single cloud overhead when the island came into view. The line between pure blue sky and pure blue sea was broken ever so slightly by a sliver of black in between them. The closer they got, the bigger the split grew, until it was no longer black, but a deep, radiant green. Jagged rocks jutting out from the sea passed by under them as the helicopter sailed through a valley between two peaks. They pass by a waterfall streaming down 1000 feet into a small pool at the roots of the mountains in the East. A few miles inland, the jungle canopy gives way to pristine, untouched villa of shops and restaurants, lined along a street leading up to a large museum. It was behind this museum that the small helipad stood, fixed into the side of a ridge. Almost tentatively, the helicopter approaches the pad, touching down with a jolting thud that shakes them all in their seats.

"Well," Masrani says, a big goofy smile on his face. "Here we are!"


	10. Chapter 9 - Welcome to Jurassic World

The cool morning air passes through the driver's side window, gently blowing over Claire's face. Sitting back against the seat, her whole body is utterly relaxed; her arms droop from her hands, only a slight grip on the steering wheel. The sky overhead is a deep blue, the faintest traces of green starting to appear over the mountains in the East. The surrounding forest is still bathed in shadow for the moment, the car headlights the brightest lights currently shining along the service roads. Up ahead is a wooden sign post. When the headlights strike it, Claire sees the words written in black paint.

 _Visitor's Center, T. rex Kingdom_ -

Claire, follows the sign, turning right at a bend in the dirt road up ahead.

The road takes her along the length of a tall, concrete wall running up and down the road on her right. Claire tries not to look at it, and takes a deep breath as she continues down the path. She eases the pressure of her foot on the gas pedal to keep calm, bringing the car to a mild crawl.

 _Boom_

Claire bring the car to a smooth stop when she hears it, or when she thinks she hears it anyway.

 _That paddock is the size of Trafalgar Square – what are the odds she'd be here?_

Sitting in the stopped car, Claire glances over at the 25 foot high wall of concrete just a few feet from the vehicle. After deciding it was just a trick of the early morning, she prepares to continue on her way.

 _Boom. Boom. Boom._

Claire knows she didn't imagine anything this time. She didn't imagine the sound, nor the subtle shaking of her rear-view mirror. The deep booms continue at a slow pace, growing louder and stronger with each one. Shaking her head, Claire brings her foot back down on the gas pedal, and the car lurches forward at an increased speed down the road. It's not too long before the booms start to shrink in power and volume, and Claire lets out a long sigh of relief when she can't hear anymore, laughing quietly at herself.

After passing by the paddock, Claire passes a sign that reads 'Employee Parking Lot' and pulls casually into a spot, the very first spot by the back door with a sign of its own stating 'Reserved for Park Manager.' Claire can't help but smile at the sight of the post. Grabbing her purse and a brief case from the passenger seat, she exits the car, locks the door behind her, and strolls pridefully through the doors.

Inside, her foot steps against the hard floor echo from wall to wall down the hallway. Only some of the lights are on, giving it a haunting atmosphere. But Claire was resolute in her morning cheer, making efforts to bid 'good morning' to ever custodial worker and security guard she passed by.

With just one trip up the elevator, Claire flashes her ID badge to the standing guard, who takes a quick glance and smiles. "Good morning, Ms. Dearing."

"Good morning….Mark!" she says, quickly glancing at his badge. The control room is dead quiet, and nearly pitch black. Taking out a keychain, Claire struggles for a moment to remember which one is the right key for the fuse box, finally remembering that the gold one with the number 11 on it is the right one. She flips two switches – 19 and 26 – and soon the whole room is lit up by a modest orange light, contrasting against all the blue of the furniture and computer screens. Going down the line of monitors, Claire, lazily turns them all on. They sit, quietly humming to themselves, waiting for their users to set them to work.

About a half hour after arriving, the elevator door opens again, and Zara strides through, carrying two cups of Starbucks coffee. "Morning!" she calls to Claire.

"Oh thank God," Claire says, not even waiting for Zara to reach to reach her before holding her hand for the cup. "You are a godsend, Zara," Claire says, taking a long sip from the cup.

"You know what's funny?" Zara asks. "I actually almost got lost looking for the Starbucks."

"What are you talking about, it's right on Main Street!" Claire says, chuckling with incredulity.

"Well, it's still pretty dark out there!" Zara says, laughing with her boss. "I was standing outside Ben and Jerry's for a half hour before I realized the difference."

"Oh Zara….what am I going to do with you," Claire says, shaking her head slowly and grinning.

"I don't know, but you best wait until after work," Zara says, winking at Claire.

Not long after, more control room workers start showing up, wishing everyone else in the room good morning before setting up at their station, engaging in light chit-chat with their desk mates. One of the first to arrive is Vivian, dressed in a knee-length white skirt and light blue blouse. Impeccably kept, she takes a seat at one of the two Main Control Stations. About a half hour later – one minute before the obligated start time – Lowery walks in, wearing a grey vest over a white t shirt, tucked into a pair of blue jeans. He takes a seat next to Vivian at the other main control station.

At precisely 7:00 AM, Claire stands at the head of the room, in front of a giant monitor showing the whole of Isla Nublar. "Alright, listen up everyone," Claire calls out, drawing everyone's attention to her. "This is it – the day we've all been waiting for. Everything we've done up until now has been leading to this day. Today, we make history….yada, yada, yada, it's all very big and ceremonial, you get the drill." Everyone else laughs. "But seriously, everyone, this is gonna be a big day. However, you shouldn't let that intimidate you. If you are in this room, it is because you were chosen specifically because – out all possible candidates – you are the absolute best for the job," (she says while trying hard not to look at Lowery). "No matter what this park can throw at us, we can handle it. You can handle it. If you have a problem, don't hesitate to come get me. Together – we will make Jurassic World work!"

Lowery is actually the first to applaud, coaxing the others to join in. Claire, to her own surprise, smiles and nods at him, and at all the others. Vivian raises her hand, "Excuse me, Ms. Dearing-"

"Vivian, come on- call me Claire!" Claire says.

Vivian gives a small smile before continuing. "Okay…Claire, um when are check ins supposed to being?"

"Excellent question. Check ins should be coming in by 7:30. If you don't receive one by 7:45 call the attraction or facility, they might just be caught up with something. They will be penalized if they don't check in by 8:00 AM."

Lower then raises his hand. "Hey Claire, uh, what's the deal on bathroom breaks?"

"Thinking practically – like it," Claire says, giving him a thumbs up. "We have breakers on every floor in the building. Call one of them, and they will man your station while you do what you need to do."

"And what about food and stuff, can we eat in here?" Lower asks.

"You can…just try to keep things tidy. Dinosaurs are one thing. Roaches are another," she says, to the laughter of her audience.

"One last thing," Lowery says. "What are the rules on personal workspace? Like, can we bring in pictures of family or -?"

"You may personalize your workspace, just make sure that none of your effects violate any of our codes regarding permissible imagery. Basically, if you can't wear it, you can't put in on your desk. Does anyone else have any questions?"

"What do we do if we lose our work badge?" one of the workers calls out from the back of the room.

"Badges can be replaced, but there's a $10 fine for each replacement," Claire says. When no one else, raises their hands, Claire checks her watch briefly, and says, "Alright then! Let's get ready!"

Within 15 minutes, the lines begin to stir with activity.

 _Patrick Murphy, checking in for Mobile Veterinary Unit_

 _Brendan Anderson, checking in for Concessions_

 _Abigail Carrier, checking in for Maintenance_

 _Maxwell Powers, checking in for the Hilton Isla Nublar_

 _Amelia Gillan, checking in for T. Rex Kingdom_

 _Sharon Hill, checking in for Ferry Landing_

 _Kunal Patel, checking in for the Museum of Natural History_

 _Henry Wu, checking in for Hammond Creation Lab_

 _Jeff Thomas, checking in for Safari Tours_

 _Katashi Hamada, checking in for Asset Containment_

 _Brian Switek, checking in for the Visitors' Center_

As the minutes ticked by, more and more sections of the park check in, with each check in being logged into the system. The only slight hiccup came from the coordinator at the Gondola lift, who seemed to be having trouble getting the thing to work. A quick call to maintenance had a repairman on his way in less than a minute. By 8:45, all the stations had been contacted.

Except for one.

"Anyone not checked in yet?" Claire asks, the instant the second hand of her watch hits the mark.

"Only one attraction. The Pachy Arena?" Vivian says, wondering if she pronounced Pachy correctly.

"Oh I can take care of that," Lowery says, picking up the phone. "Hi, Lowery Cruthers from park control, checking in. Everything alright?"

No answer.

"Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no," Claire says quietly to herself, hoping none of the employees can hear her. She leans over Lowery. "Get me a feed on the Arena."

With just a few buttons tapped on Lowery's keyboard, the monitor switches to a view of an open space. Bare, dirty ground spreads out toward a circular wall spanning the camera's view. Lines of seats are stacked on top of each other like the Roman coliseum. What Claire sees in the center of the arena nearly cause her to shout something obscene in the control room.

A man lays spread eagled over the ground, face down in the dirt. He isn't moving. At the lower left-hand corner of the screen, there is something moving – swaying like a tree branch in the wind – but there is no wind. It takes Claire a second to recognize the tail for what it is.

Lowery doesn't even think. He picks up the phone and says, "ACU, this Lowery Cruthers from Park Control, we have a Code 18 at Pachy Arena," putting down the phone for a second, he turns to Vivian. "Vivian, please call Guest Relations, inform them that the Pachy Arena is closed until further notice." He then goes back to his own phone and picks it up once again. "Medic Team, this is Lowery Cruthers from Park Control. We have a Code 12 at the Pachy Arena, victim is lying face down in the ground, does not appear conscious." He waits for a response before saying, "Okay got it, thanks." Then he turns to face everyone in the room, before saying in a loud voice. "Just so everyone knows, we have a Code 12 and a Code 18 at Pachy Arena, that attraction is closed until further notice."

Claire looks at Lowery with wide eyes as she sees him take a seat back at his desk. In the quiet that followed, a wide smile breaks out over her face and she gives him a very firm pat on the back. "Lowery! Good job! Excellent job! Good calls, all around!"

"Thanks Claire!" he says, noticing the subtle hint of surprise in her voice.

Letting out a huge sigh at his desk, she stands back up and checks her watch again. "8 O'clock on the dot," she says. "the ferry should be arriving just about now…."

One by one, the eager tourists descend down the ramp to the dock. The gleaming orange sun stays hidden behind the mountains, shading the guests from its intense rays. The gleaming white tour boat that carried them here lies dormant in the midst of the harbor, gleaming blue letter spelling out 'Isla Nublar Ferry' on its hull. Dressed for their summer bets, there is a somewhat homogenous mixture of shorts – both jean and khaki – as well as dozens of brightly colored vacation shirts. Many have come already dress in bathing suits, the sound of the flip flops lost in the excited chatter that had broken out upon arrival. Many cameras are already out, enthusiastically snapping photos of every mundane detail of the island, most especially the sign posts lining the dock leading up to the first monorail station. They spell out "Welcome to Isla Nublar!" in no less than half a dozen languages.

At the base of the escalator leading up to the monorail station, there is a podium where Simon Masrani watches proudly as the procession of tourists draws ever nearer. Behind him at his sides are all of his board members, Lilah sitting to his immediate right. The visitors are herded into a space surrounding the podium, spacious enough to hold them all with plenty of elbow room. A yacht employee at the very back of the crowd gives Masrani a thumbs up, letting him know that all of the guests are unloaded. Behind him, the luggage is loaded out of the boat cargo and onto a series of trucks.

At the sight of the thumbs up, Masrani taps the microphone to get everyone's attention. When they have pretty much all calmed down, Masrani speaks. "Good morning, everyone!" They answer him in turn with a dull roar. "I know you're all anxious to embark on your adventure, so I'll try to keep this brief. In 1987, Dr. John Parker Hammond had a dream. Of all his dreams, it was the grandest, the boldest, and the most spectacular. It was to resurrect worlds seemingly lost forever, and to bring mankind face to face with the most amazing group of animals ever to set foot on this planet. Though John Hammond was plagued by failure, and he would die before seeing this dream realized – here, today, we are privileged to witness the fulfillment of that dream. Within moments, you will see, with your own eyes, creatures never before seen by human eyes. You will be the first, but not the last. You are the intrepid pioneers who will launch this park into the forefront of popular entertainment. Indeed, the wonder and awe that you are about to experience will be the envy of all the world

"So before you begin on this prehistoric adventure, let me just take this time to share with you my hopes for you and for this park. It is my hope that, when you see the animals who call this island home, you will recognize the extraordinary power of nature to create, and to destroy. You will learn something of the history of life on our beautiful, blue planet. And most of all, that you will take the experiences you make this day, and carry them with you for the rest of your life. And that – armed with this newfound sense of humility and awe – you will work to make this world of ours a better place, for all creatures, great and small.

"But now, enough with speeches. Your adventure awaits! So, allow me – Simon Masrani – to be the first to say: Welcome to Jurassic World!"


	11. Chapter 10 - Family Matters

Radio chatter rings through the blue room. Ringing telephones call out like birds during the mating season. On the monitors overhead, rivers of frantic tourists scurry from attractions to amenities and back again. Every corner of the island calls out to every other corner.

Striding across the room, Zara by her side, Claire tries to keep her voice louder than the din of the control room all around her. "Yes…..okay…yes I understand that you are upset, but our policy is very clearly stated in the brochures, and in several places throughout the park. Feeding the animals human food is strictly prohibited as it can cause serious health problems." A pause. "Ma'am you have to pay the fine, or you and your party will be escorted off the island. No, there will not be a refund. Okay, well, there's nothing I can do about that so…" and she hangs up. "Bitch," she says immediately after putting the phone away. "It's not my fault you don't know how to read. Seriously, it doesn't matter how many signs you put up, people will still ignore them!"

"Oh, those two _Triceratops_ at Gentle Giants are going at it again. ACU wants to know what you want them to do," Zara says.

"Again?!" Claire nearly shouts. "That's the third time this week!" She heaves a very heavy sigh before saying, "Okay, you know what, just tell them to separate them for now. We'll see if we can't integrate at least one of them into the herd."

"Okay –oh, also, Dr. Switek says that there's nothing we can do about the grass thing. The dinosaurs are going to have to learn for themselves that they can't digest grass."

"Well then, good thing dinosaurs have such big brains," Claire says, slapping her arms by her side.

"Excuse me, Claire," one of the staff calls out from across the room. "AM says we need to order another 10 tons of Gingko leaves."

"Already?!" Claire says. Seeing the worker wince slightly at her tone, she says, "Sorry, it's not you, Jake, it's just….tell them I'll get on that after my meeting at 5." He nods and goes back to work. Claire glances down at her watch. "Speaking of food – lunchtime!"

"What'll it be today?" Zara asks.

"Hmm…okay, Jamba Juice, sweet 'n spicy flatbread and ice tea, if you please," Claire says, heading out the door toward the break room.

"You got it," Zara says, heading for the elevator.

Entering the break room, Claire shuts the door fast behind her, driving out all the noise banging against the walls of the control room. There's no one else in there, and she takes the momentarily combination of solitude and silence to her advantage. Slumping down in a plastic chair by a round table, she puts down her head, and hides her face with her arms. She sees nothing but darkness and hears nothing but her breath. Each inhalation draws a little bit more of herself back inside.

After a few minutes, the sound of the door opening brings her back up. The cacophony of the control returns for split second before the door is closed again, Lowery standing inside. "Phew, it is just a little insane out there," he says, turning to look at Claire.

"Just a little," Claire says, leaning back in her chair, and putting her head against the wall behind her.

Lower goes over to the fridge and pulls out a large Tupperware container, with what appears to be some kind of meat, specifically poultry. Pulling out a paper plate from one of the cupboards, he sticks it in the microwave and sets it for about 45 seconds on high. Then he pulls out a half-finished 20oz bottle of coke and plops down in front of Claire.

Claire sniffs the air as the microwave continues to run. "What is that?" she says, suddenly very hungry.

"Oh, it's, uh…..it's Peking duck," Lowery says, taking it out of the microwave. "Leftovers from last night."

Claire scrunches her face, trying to think of which question to ask first. "We-you-bu-…you got that from the resort?"

"Uh huh," Lowery says, blowing on the duck.

"Huh….didn't know we had Peking duck," Claire says, shrugging.

"It's really good. Wanna try some?" he says, offering her a fork full.

Eyeing the white duck flesh on the end of the utensil, Claire considers the offer. "Eh, what the hell," she says, plucking the meat with two fingers from the end of the fork and popping it in her mouth. "Oh wow, that is good," she says, feeling the meat melt in her mouth.

"You should try it fresh," Lowery says.

"What made you decide to get Peking duck?" Claire says. "Seems a bit…decadent."

Lowery shrugs. "It's something I wanted to try for a long time."

"Oh well, fair enough," Claire says.

"What about you, what's for lunch for Ms. Dearing?" Lowery asks her.

"Nothing special. Flatbread pizza."

"Ahh, keeping it on the lighter side. I like it."

She waves her hand. "Just want something I can eat quickly. Can't afford to be late getting back to work."

"I hear that," Lowery says, taking another forkful of duck. "Did you hear about that kid that got stuck in one of the water slides?"

"What? When did that happen?" Claire asks.

"About 9:30 or so. The slide operator felt bad and was uncomfortable telling the kid he was too fat."

"So instead they decided it would be better to show the kid he was too fat…" Claire says, resting her forehead in her right hand. "I'm sure I'll be hearing about that at some point…"

"Maybe not," Lowery says. "I comped them one day off their package price. It seemed to satisfy them."

"Ohh, good. Good work," Claire says, nodding to him. "I'll have to talk to someone about possibly making the slides wider to prevent that from happening again. In the meantime, I'll have to make sure to tell the staff at the Aquatic Park not to be afraid of hurting people's feelings if it means protecting their bodies."

"Oh I do have one piece of good news," Lowery says, taking a sip of the coke. "They finally figured out what the problem was at the Pachy Arena on Monday."

"What, what is it?" Claire says, leaning in close toward him.

"Okay, so, you know how in the weeks leading up to the park's opening, the pachys' training had been going well?"

"Yeah, right…?"

"Well, the day of the park's opening, the lead trainer had decided to wear a red T-shirt. Now, the male pachy's domes are red, and they think this is a display feature used to intimidate rivals during the breeding season. So he saw the guy's T-shirt and interpreted it as another male challenging him."

"Ooooohhhh, okay. Kinda like a bull fighter?"

"Nah, that's a myth," Lowery says, waving his hand. "Bulls don't see in color. It's the motion of the fabric that causes them to charge. With the pachys, it really is the red color that's the trigger."

"Okay…okay….hmm…so, we'll have to implement a slight dress code for those working at the Arena….oh shit, what about guests?"

"I was thinking about that," Lowery says. "Maybe we could give people these…..like, disposable, paper poncho type things that cover their torsos if they're wearing red."

"Oh that could work, yeah," Claire says, nodding.

At that moment, Zara enters the room carrying the Flatbread pizza, as well as a bottle of ice tea and a fruit smoothie. "Here you are."

"Thanks, Zara," Claire says, picking a few napkins up in preparation for the meal. "Going with the smoothie again"?"

"What can I say? I'm a creature of habit," Zara says.

Swallowing her first bite of pizza, Claire says, "Oh wait until you hear about this. So one of the docents caught a woman and her kid trying to feed churros to a baby Apatosaur at Gentle Giants."

"Uh oh," Lowery says, anticipating the next bit.

"So the docent informed her that she had to pay the $200 fine for violating our policy on feeding the dinosaurs. She got so pissed that she demanded to speak with higher ups until she finally reached me, and I basically told her, 'tough shit, ma'am. The rule is posted all over the fucking park, it's not our fault you don't know how to read!'….though, not in those words of course."

"God, you know, I hate when people are like that," Lowery said, shaking his head. "They think that just because they paid for their vacation package that means they can do whatever they want."

"Well, you know what I've noticed," Zara says, "Is that we haven't actually too much in the way of obnoxious tourists…I mean, considering, at least."

"Oh things were nearly perfect for the first couple of days," Claire says. "They're caught up in everything. The wonder of it all, that sort of thing. Then after that wears off it's all, 'that much for a lousy soda?'" she says, effecting the voice of an overweight man.

"These people get to see living dinosaurs!" Lowery says, downing his coke. "What do they have to complain about?"

"Oh they'll find something," Claire says. "A career made working with the public has taught me that much."

"Well, nevertheless," Zara says, fiddling with the straw to her smoothie, "I think it's been a top notch first week. You should be proud of yourself," she says, patting Claire on the shoulder.

"Yeah, definitely," Lowery says. "I mean….not to jinx anything, but if history is any guide, things could have been much, much worse."

"Speaking of which," Claire says, "guess what's the one attraction we haven't any problems with yet?" They both just look at her, waiting for the answer. "T. Rex Kingdom!"

"What, really?" Lowery asks. "I thought I heard about someone getting sick there?"

Claire shakes her head. "Not sure where you heard that from, but nope. T. Rex Kingdom hasn't had a single issue yet…now, if only there was some wood in this room to knock on."

"Don't sweat it, Claire," Lowery says. "Under your management, Jurassic World is sure to have a bright and successful future."

"Well, just as long as one of us believes that, I guess we'll be alright," she says, half smiling at him.

Zara puts down her smoothie for moment and says, "You know what I'm thinking? I think we should have a big get together, yeah? To celebrate the first week of operations."

"Ah dude, yes! I'm there!" Lowery says.

"Well…it's a little short notice….oh what the hell. It's Jurassic World! Everyone on earth was hoping we'd fail, and we kicked all their asses!"

"Damn straight!" Lowery says, holding up hand in front of her. She pauses for a few moments before indulging his hive five. Zara follows her supervisor's example.

"So, where are we going to have it?" Zara asks.

"We can just have it at my place," Claire says. "Goodness knows I have the room for it."

"Ah yes! I've never been in one of the executive suites," Lowery says, raising his eyebrows.

"Eh, their alright. A bit cold," Zara says with a shrug.

"Wait, you've been there?" Lowery asks.

"I…." Zara says before pausing.

"A couple nights ago, Zara forgot to deliver some very important files to me. She had no choice but to pay me a visit later in the evening," Claire says in a calm, quiet voice to Lowery, even as she flashes Zara a pair of warning eyes. Zara takes heed, and continues slurping on her smoothie.

"Oh okay," Lowery says, without paying the point a second thought. "So, who are we inviting to this thing?

"My suite isn't, like, gigantic, so let's try to keep it on the smaller side?" Claire suggests.

"How about the control room staff? Plus Mark, that is," Lowery says.

Claire nods a few times, calculating the number of bodies her suite could hold. "I….yeah, yeah that should work out just fine. But it's up to you to get the word out. I'm gonna be too busy running around all over the place."

"You got it, boss," Lowery says.

Claire looks down at her watch. "Uh oh, lunch's nearly finished." Except it isn't because she still has about half her flatbread left. "You want the rest?" Claire says to Zara.

Zara shakes her head. "No thank you. Never been big on lunch."

"How about you?" she says, offering it to Lowery.

"Like mom used to say, waste not, want not," he says, pulling the pizza closer to him.

"Did your mum really used to say that?" Zara says, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I'm sure someone's mom did," Lowery says, his mouth full of pizza.

"Did your mother also tell you not to talk with your mouthful?" Claire says, getting a chuckle out of Zara.

"She left that matter open to debate," Lowery says before swallowing.

"Alright, well then. Back to work"

Once out the door, the din of day to day business falls down upon Claire, Zara, and Lowery like a heavy rain fall. But within minutes, among the usual radio chatter and inter-office goings on, there started word of a party, at the top executive suite at the Hilton Isla Nublar, that night at 11:30 PM. It simply became a matter of weathering through the worst of the afternoon and evening shifts. But after 10, the guests were the resort's problem. Park staff were free.

Finding her way back to her room at about 10:50, Claire changes her clothes from business white to casual white, reapplies a light layer of makeup, and lets her shoulder-length hair down from the bun it had been in all day. She looks around at the spotless suite around her, very thankful for the home-keeping habits she'd cultivated over the years. She is more than ready for the onslaught of debauchery well on its way toward her room.

There had been a well-established BYOB policy when word of the party first went around. But when Claire opens the door to her first guest, she is astonished to see Lowery carrying two bags full of hard liquor into the suite.

"Geez, Lowery, think you brought enough for everyone?" Claire says, watching him unload the contents onto a counter top.

"Hey, like I always say – I'd rather have too much than too little," he says, placing the last of 16 bottles of assorted gins, vodkas, tequilas, and whiskeys into a line on the counter.

Most of the other guests are more conservative with their taste, bringing one – maybe two – bottles of wine, or a single case of beer. All in all, it reminds Claire of just how fully stocked the resort was.

By the time the last guest arrives, the suite contains 13 people. At a half hour in, Lowery calls out, "Is this it?"

"I guess," Claire says with a shrug and a sip of cabernet.

"Damn….party poopers. Ya know, I think, I think, I'm gonna have to pull the sticks….from all their asses!" Lowery says, the smell of tequila already strong in his breath.

"Can't say I blame them," Vivian says, holding a bright red cocktail. "I was pretty wiped when I got back to my room. It was a hard choice between collapsing on the bed, or coming here."

"Well, aren't you glad you came here?" Lowery says, arms out to indicate the whole room.

"Still haven't decided," Vivian says in a voice loud enough for everyone except drunken fools to hear.

The night burns slowly, like a candle, as more and more booze is consumed, as conversation bounds from subject to subject, even as music eventually starts to play. None but the most drunk among them try to dance. Claire keeps a close eye on her watch. She doesn't want this to go on for too long, since they still have work the next day. She can't help but be excited about the prospect of Lowery coming into work tomorrow with a raging hangover.

By 1 AM, Claire decides that the time has come. "Okay everyone. Great times had by all, but I think it's time to start heading out." Pretty much everyone agrees, except Lowery, who – from his continued drunken dancing – doesn't seem to have hear her. Claire pulls Vivian aside and says, "Would you mind walking him back to his suite? I don't want him stumbling out the building and off a cliff."

Vivian looks at Lowery. Then she turns back to Claire. "Got any mints?"

"Let me check my purse," Claire says, heading into her bedroom, where she'd left her purse sitting on the bed. Digging through the contents, she finds many things. One of these things she grabs in her hand, believing it to be a tin of Altoids. Pulling it out, she finds that it's actually her cell phone. Suddenly curious, Claire flips open the phone and sees that she has three missed calls. Worried that it might be one of her superiors, her whole head suddenly sobers up. But she breathes a warm sigh of relief when she discovers that all three calls have been from her sister, Karen.

 _Probably just curious about how the park is going_ , Claire thinks to herself.

Pressing for voicemail, Claire brings the phone up to her ear and listens.

A minute later, she puts the phone down.

Ten minutes later, Vivian appears at the doorway, gently knocking on the open door. "Um, Claire? Did you find any mints yet?"

Slowly, Claire turns to Vivian and says in a cracked voice. "My mother died today."

3 YEARS LATER.

A warm breeze from the ocean weaves through the dimly-lit dining room. A quiet piano can be heard just above the light noise of casual conversation taking place in between bites of food and sips of drink. Waiters and waitresses weave swiftly and elegantly through the labyrinth of tables, all while carrying trays stacked with entre upon entre. The windows, as well as the open foyer, reveal a busy street lit only be streetlights, the sun having already dipped below the Western horizon, leaving nothing but a green tint over the Pacific. There are very few children left out, and most of the ones that are left are over the age of five.

Of all these tables, there is one that is set for four, though only three are present. A boy of seven, with brown eyes close together and a buzz cut, sits between a man and a woman. The woman, shorter of the two, has a long nose, blue eyes, and brown hair that gently lays by her shoulder blades. The man, tall, lean, yet squat-faced, is larger overall, though the way he hunches conceals the several inches he has over his wife. There is one glass of beer, one gin and tonic, and one root beer on the table, all of which are about half empty.

"Hope she didn't get eaten," the man says, hoping to elicit a chuckle out of either the wife or the son.

A figure pushes through the nearly-full restaurant, finally coming to a stop at their table. "Hey everyone!" Claire says with wide smile.

Everyone at the table gets up. Claire first hugs the man, Scott, before moving on to Karen. Claire can't help but notice the fact that the hug she exchanges with Karen is quick and mechanical. When she leans over to give a hug to Zach, he hesitates, looking at her as if she was a very big dog that wanted to lick his face. She extends her arms for him to enter, but he stays where he is.

"Aww, Zach, you're not scared of me, are you?" Claire says.

"He's just shy around new people is all," Scott says, patting Zach on the back. "It's okay, buddy, she's your Aunt Claire! Remember, you've seen her in pictures."

Eventually trusting his father that it is safe to proceed, he steps into her hug, which she delivers tightly and warmly. Instantly, he feels relieved. "There you go, Zach!"

"Figures. Kid can get just a few feet away from a _Tyrannosaurus_ , but ask him to hug his aunt, and he suddenly gets cold feet," Scott says, actually managing to get a few small laughs from everyone.

"Well, I'm sure I would be a lot easier to approach if I was behind a foot of bulletproof glass stronger than steel," Claire says, taking a seat across from Zach. "Did you guys order yet?"

"Only drinks," Karen says simply.

"Does everybody know what they want?" Claire says, picking up a menu.

"I don't want anything," Zach says, staring down at an empty plate.

"What? Why not?" Claire asks.

"Oh don't mind him," Scott says. "He's just really picky."

"Ah, am I to understand that the items here on the menu are too sophisticated for your developing pallet?" Claire says, lightly teasing him.

"Can't I just get a burger?" Zach says.

Both parents are about to say no, but Claire beats them to it. "Sure thing. I'll let the waiter now when they get here."

"But there's no burger on the menu…?" Scott asks.

"Pfft, I run this place. If I can't find a simple cheeseburger somewhere on this island, I'm not doing my job properly."

At that moment, the waiter steps up to the table. "Oh…Ms. Dearing! I didn't know you were coming, is this family of yours?"

"Yes, this is my sister, Karen," she says nodding to Karen. "That's her husband, Scott, and over there," she says pointing across the table," is my nephew, Zach."

"Well, we're very happy to see you all here at Winston's tonight!" the waiter says, pen and paper in hand. "What can I get you folks?"

"Wait, just very quickly," Scott says, turning to Claire. "Everything's on the house, right?"

"You got it," Claire says, smiling with pride.

"In that case, I'll have the filet mignon," he says, putting down his menu.

"Alrighty, and for you ma'am?" he says, turning to Karen.

"Scallops, please," she says.

"Scallops it is then. And for you Ms. Dearing?"

"Well, I'll have a coke and Bacardi to drink, and the grilled swordfish. And, I would also like your finest cheeseburger for my little friend here, if you please," she says, nodding to Zach.

"Oh, can I get extra ketchup? And no pickles?" Zach asks, excited.

"Of course, sir. How would you liked that cooked?" the waiter asks.

Zach looks at Claire confused. She giggles and says, "Just do medium."

"Sure thing, Ms. Dearing. Bread and salad will be out shortly, along with that coke and Bacardi."

"Thank you very much…what's your name?" Claire asks.

"Darren," he says.

"Well, thanks very much Darren," she says, giving him a look that ensures a generous tip if all goes well.

Zach, looking positively ecstatic now, looks at Claire and says, "So you can just do whatever you want?"

"Well…not _any_ thing…..but yeah, basically," she says.

"Do you get to watch the T. rex eating?" he asks.

"We wouldn't let him see the feeding show. Too young," Scott says.

"Ahh. Well, yes, actually, I can. Though I haven't had the pleasure just yet," she says, facetiously indicating that she will avoid ever seeing it if she can help it.

"Can you go anywhere you want in the park? Whenever you want?" Zach asks.

"Actually no," Claire says, placing her napkin on her lap. "There are two places I can't go. One is the inside of T. rex Kingdom. Nobody is allowed in there."

"Why not?"

"Because she'd eat me!" Claire says.

"But you're the boss!" Zach says.

All three grownups laugh when he says that. Claire thinks to herself and says, "Yes, true. But, see, the thing is, the T rex doesn't know that. And I don't think she'd care even if she did."

"Yeah, that's probably true," Zach said, satisfied.

"And the other place I'm not allowed to go is the John Hammond Nature Preserve in the North of the island."

"What's that?" Zach asks.

"Well, basically, when we were building Jurassic World, we decided to leave a big chunk of the island alone, for all the plants and animals that were here before we came," Claire explains, as the waiter returns with her drink. "No humans are allowed there, because we want the animals and plants to live there in peace."

"Oh….that makes sense," Zach says.

"But," Claire says, holding up a finger, "Apart from that, I can go wherever I want, whenever I want."

"Whoa…" Zach says, totally impressed again. "You must get to look at dinosaurs all the time!"

Claire looks down for a second before letting out a big sigh. "Actually, believe it or not, I have never been out with the dinosaurs before."

"WHAT?" Zach shouts, causing both of his parents to shush him, though they can't help but give her a couple of questioning looks. "But why?"

"Well, mostly, it's because I spend all my time working from the control room," Claire says. "And even when I'm not working, I'm usually just too tired to even leave my bedroom."

"If I ran the park," Zach says, sitting up confidently in his seat, "I would go out and see the dinosaurs every day!"

 _No, you wouldn't_ Claire can't help but think to herself.

"So that's what you usually do with your time off, just kind hang out at the resort?" Scott asks.

"Yeah, pretty much. Sometimes I go swimming, or to the spa, but usually, my life is divided between working and sleeping."

"What's your schedule like? Do you work every day, or do you have days off?" Scott asks.

"I work three full days, and four half days, so I do end up with the equivalent of two days off a week," Claire says, getting exhausted just thinking about it.

"Wow," Scott says. "Do you ever get to leave the island?"

Claire shakes her head. "I just don't have time. I have to ask for time off months in advance. And the fact is, I just don't have much reason to leave. Here on Nublar, we have every kind of food and drink you could possibly want, our own medical facility, fitness centers, spas, swimming pools, tennis courts, yada, yada, yada."

Claire notices Karen wincing slightly in her seat. But the sight is driven from their minds as the food arrives, placed in front of them with care and precision. Conversation carries on at a slower pace, in between mouths busy chewing expensive cuisine. Mostly it passes between Claire, Zach, and Scott, with Karen keeping noticeably quiet. The silence grows ever more acute as dinner goes on, Claire slowly losing her appetite, even as little food makes its way to her stomach.

Eventually, one most of their plates are empty, Scott looks down at his watch and says, "Uh oh, looks like we're getting close to bed time."

"Awww, noooo!" Zach says, as he let out a long, low belch.

"Zachary!" Karen says, shooting him a sharp look. Claire tries very hard not to laugh, but can't help but let a few snickers escape.

Lowering his voice, Scott says, "Listen, why don't I take him back to the room. Let you guys catch up a little bit."

"Dad can't I stay out longer? We're on vacation for crying out loud!" Zach says.

"No no, it's early to be bed for all of us. Gotta be nice and rested for our next day!" he says, getting out of his seat and lifting Zach to his feet.

"Wait, wait, before I go, I have one last question for Aunt Claire," Zach says.

"Shoot," Claire says, leaning in toward him.

"Do you guys have any raptors here?"

Claire looks at him with a crooked brow. "Raptors?"

"Yeah, you know, like Velociraptor. The ones that have the sickle claws on their feet?" Zach says.

"Huh….well, we only have the eight species we have here, so no raptors. Not yet anyway. We're starting to look into the possibility of adding some new attractions. In fact…" Claire says in a quiet, daring voice, and glancing around to make sure no one else is listening. "I'll let you in on a little secret. But you can't tell anyone I told you this, okay?"

"Okay," Zach says, nodding.

"You promise?" She says,

"I promise," Zach says with one big nod of his head.

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"And stick a needle in my eye," Zach says, miming the rather violent action.

Claire laughs, but gets quiet again as she leans in and says, "We are thinking….now, only thinking now, there's nothing for sure….but we are thinking about adding some pterodactyls to the park."

Instantly, Zach's eyes go wide and he starts hopping ecstatically up and down and going, "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god! Pterodactyls!" he says in a low hiss.

"That's right, but remember – you can't tell anyone. Otherwise, your Aunt Claire could get in a lot of trouble, and she might not be boss of the park anymore."

"Oh okay," Zach says, whispering and nodding frantically.

"Alright, Zachy, let's go," Scott says, tugging gently at Zach's arm.

When both of them are gone, Claire and Karen stare at their empty places for a while. Karen finally breaks the silence. "You know he's going to tell all of his friends."

Claire waves her hand. "Eh. We'll be announcing it in about a month anyway." With the silence broken, Claire decides to say what she's been thinking all evening. "You're still pretty upset about me missing the funeral."

"Yes I am," Karen says resolutely, crossing her arms.

"Karen," Claire says, slumping forward in her seat. "What do you want me to do? It's been three years. I paid for the whole thing, what do I need to do to make things right?"

Karen loosens in her seat as she breathes a heavy sigh. "I don't know Claire. I really don't know. Look…to be honest, I could get over you missing the funeral if you hadn't grown so distant since then. Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays, 4th of Julys, all big family parties, but no you. If we're lucky, then maybe, MAYBE, you'll give us a call at 9:00 pm on Christmas Day. I speak to you, like, what, 5 times a year now? You haven't even met my other child, this is your first time meeting Zach, who's 9 years old at this point. I mean….do you even know that Amy's boyfriend committed suicide?"

"Amy has a boyfriend?" Claire asks, confused.

"Had, yes, she did," Karen says, coldly.

Claire feels her heart sinking downwards toward her stomach. She feels a chill running through her blood as she hangs her head low. "I'm sorry, Karen," she finally says, a slight wobble in her voice. "I'm really sorry. I don't mean to be distant, and you know that I love all of you." Karen doesn't say anything. "Karen," Claire says firmly. "You know I love you."

Tears start to glisten in the dim lighting. Karen holds back a choked voice behind pursed lips, even as sniffles sound from her nose. Without thinking, Claire moves over to the seat beside her sister, and pulls her into a deep hug. Karen resists at first, but eventually relaxes into the warm embrace. "I just want you back in the family. Not trapped on this island."

"And I miss being in the family," Claire says, choking back tears of her own. "But you have to understand, this park is a full time job, literally. Dinosaurs don't take holidays. There is unbelievable pressure on me, not only to keep the park running, but to make it bigger and better."

"I'm not asking you to quit," Karen says. "Just remember us. You know, call us more than once every few months. Just take an hour, every couple of weeks to say hi, see how everyone's doing. We all really miss you."

"Yes, you're right, you're absolutely right. I promise, I will call more, I will keep in touch, and I'll make sure to know what's going on in the family," Claire says.

"You think you can get more people to come down to visit you like you did for us?" Karen asks.

"I probably could, but they wouldn't be able to get the same treatment you guys did. I mean, really, I went all out for you guys, and the board is okay with it this one time since I'm such a good park manager, but I can't keep doing it."

"Alright, fair enough," Karen says, wiping away some of the tears. "Just, please, remember – you have family off this island who care about you, deeply."

"I know, I know, and I will do a better job of remembering that."

The two finally lean back away from each other, still in their seats. Staring off into the crowd, Karen says, "Remember when I was dating that douche in high school."

"Oh god," Claire says, laughing. "You mean, the one who's tires I slashed after he called you a whore? God…you know, I still have the scars from when he pushed me down after he found out."

"Too bad he wasn't counting on that tire iron," Karen says, as both women laugh.

After another moment of silence, Karen says, "You know, he brags about you at school."

"What, Zach?" Claire asks. When Karen nods, Claire says, "No he does not."

"I'm telling you, he does. One of the first things he tells people when he meets them is 'my aunt is the bass of Jurassic World' and he mentions that fact at least once whenever he has someone over. I swear, he's going to use it as a pick up line when he's in high school."

"Oh…" Claire says, blushing a little and waving a hand. "What about your other boy, what's his name?"

"Gray," Karen says.

"How's he doing?"

"Well….he's a bit odd, but we love him all the more for it," Karen says.

"Odd in what way?" Claire asks.

"It's kinda hard to explain…..he's very smart, very very smart, his vocabulary is, like, twice as large as that of anormal 4 year old. Actually….to be honest….we think he might have some kind of condition."

"Condition? What do you mean?"

"You know, like….like, he might be mentally challenged or something."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's just kinda the things he says around other people….like, I know kids aren't the most tactful people in the world, but one thing he does pretty frequently is, like, when someone's in the middle of saying something, he just goes 'eh, I don't care' and walks away."

Claire laughs. "Maybe he's just brave enough to do what we all wish we could do."

"Claire," Karen says. "I'm serious."

"Okay, well, maybe he does have some kind of mental disorder. So what? He's smart. I'm sure he's gonna be just fine."

"Well, we'll see."

"How come you didn't bring him?" Claire asks.

"Too scary," Karen says. "He's very, very sensitive to loud noises."

"Probably for the best then," Claire says, nodding, and looking out toward the valley. "He'd be the first kid ever to be more scared of the parasaurs than the _T. rex_."

"Yeah, so we left him with my brother in law. He runs a daycare, so he should be fine."

A pause in the conversation signifies the end. "Well," Claire says, straightening up, "Anything else you want to say?"

Taking one last sniffle, Karen shakes her head and says, "No, I'm good. You?"

"I'm all set for now," Claire says standing up. "So I'll meet you guys at the museum at 9:30 sharp, okay?"

"Sure thing," Karen says.

The two sisters hug once again, just as firmly as before. "I love you," Claire says quietly in to Karen's ear.

"I love you too," Karen says back.


	12. Chapter 11 - Expansion

Vivian leans back in her chair, holding her coffee in her hand as the man continues shouting at her. Every time he hurls an expletive at her, she looks at Lowery and throws up her middle finger toward the wireless headset. Every time she does, Lowery snickers. "Sir," she says, trying to get a word in. "Sir, we are an institution dedicated in part to scientific education, and as such, our attractions are meant to reflect the latest scientific information, which is strongly in favor of the Theory of Evolution."

The diatribe continues, even after Vivian impeccably recites the line from the script regarding this very issue. At this point, she's not even listening to what the man is saying. She catches scatter phrases jumbled about the ranting. 'I paid good money' 'Godlessness' and 'atheist propaganda' pop out every so often, but they just make her want to snicker. Finally, Vivian decides she's had enough for the moment. "Well, let me connect you with the Park Director, she might be able to do something for you."

The decision to hand this off to Claire was done in part because Claire just happened to be passing by. Putting the 'gentleman' on hold, Vivian turns in her chair to face Claire. "There's a Creationist asshole on line 3 who wants a refund since our park accepts reality."

"How long as he been here?" Claire asks.

"He arrived this past Monday," Vivian says.

"And he's asking for a refund NOW?" Claire asks, raising her eyebrows. When Vivian nods, Claire practically snarls and picks up a headset. "I don't have time for this shit," she says before connecting to the line. "Good afternoon, this Park Director, Claire Dearing, speaking, how may I help you?" A furious glare is on Claire's face within moments of listening to the indignant ravings of the man on line 3. Any hints of potential sympathy are in the toilet. "Okay sir, could you please tell me when your first arrived on the island?" Claire asks, in the fakest polite voice she could possibly muster. She smiles a devilish smile and says, "Well sir, as the Theory of evolution is mentioned numerous times throughout the park, as well as in the brochure you should have received before coming, I cannot issue you a refund this late into your vacation package." After another few minutes of reckless swearing, Claire just smiles even wider. "Yes sir, well until then, the park will not be refunding you any money. Have a nice day," she hangs up on him, and throws down the head set by Vivian. "Prick," she hisses under her breath.

"What did you say?" Lowery says, still smiling from the whole fiasco,.

"Bastard says he's gonna sue us," Claire says. "Good luck. If he thinks our dinosaurs are nasty, he should see our lawyers. Now, where the fuck is that file," she says, frantically going over each station and scanning it quickly for any sign of a manila folder.

"Which folder?" Lowery asks.

"The one for my meeting," Claire says, as she keeps looking. "It's in twenty minutes."

"Didn't Zara take that back up to your office?" Vivian asks.

"Godamnit, I was just there!" Claire nearly shouts as she spins around and heads toward the elevator. One quick trip upstairs, down the hall, Claire nearly collides directly with Zara as she opens the door to her office. "Where have you been!?" Claire blurts out.

"Looking for you!" Zara says. "Where have you been!"

"Looking for-" Claire begins, before something in Zara's left arm. "That," she finishes, pointing at the folder. "Why do you do this to me?"

"Hey I'm just trying to look out for you," Zara says, handing her the folder. "You're the one leaving things around the control room."

Taking the folder, Claire can't help but smile a little bit. "What would I do without you?"

"Hopefully you won't have to find out," Zara says.

Claire looks around quickly, before pecking Zara lightly on the cheek. "Wish me luck."

Not looking back, Claire takes a flight of stairs down to the ground level. Walking briskly past a few tourists gathered around some big screen TVs and a bunch of toddlers digging in a fake fossil pit, Claire rounds a corner to find Lilah standing by the front doors inside the Visitor's Center. Being careful not to step on any of the shorter kids, Claire makes her over to Lilah, who pulls Claire toward her in a hand shake. "Claire, good to see you!" Lilah says.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Martin. If you'll just follow me up to my office, we can get started." Once both of them are back in Claire's office, Claire takes a seat at her desk, and Lilah sits across from her. "So how was the ride here? Everything go smoothly."

"As good as it gets," Lilah says with a simple smile.

"And how have you been enjoying your stay so far?" Claire asks.

"So far so good," Lilah says. "Now, admittedly I only got here a couple hours ago, but everything so far has been great. Good food, friendly stuff. I just stopped by the T. rex on my way here, but it looked she wasn't at home to call."

"Yeah, after the first year, the T. rex spent a lot of time around the viewing area…to be honest, we think she can actually smell the guests, even if she can't see them…but after a while, she just got bored. She mostly likes to hang out around the Northwest corner of the paddock….except for during the feeding shows that is."

"I see," Lilah says, nodding. "And do you get a lot of guest complaints about that?"

"For the most part, people seem pretty understanding about the fact that we can't control the animals. If we do get a complaint, we tell them to just come back during a feeding show."

"What do you feed her?" Lilah asks.

"Goats," Claire says.

"How many a day?"

"Seven."

"Wow…now, do you breed the goats here, or do you get them imported?"

"No, we breed them here. After living and hunting in the wild for so many years, she'll only take fresh meat," Claire says.

"Wow….but you know, that does bring me to one of the things I wanted to talk about," Lilah says, pulling out a few files from her briefcase. "Which is that operating costs are a little higher than anticipated. Now, at the moment, this isn't a problem at all – you're still seeing record profits that would put to shame any other zoo or amusement park – but of course, in business, we can't just focus on the present, we have to be prepared for the future. The world's greatest theme park can't rely on the same attractions forever."

"Absolutely agreed," Claire says, pulling out some files from her folder. "And we've been thinking a lot about what sort of attractions would make the most sense to add for the immediate future."

"Alright, good, good. So let's see what you've come up with," Lilah says, pulling the files closer to her. Within moments, her eyes are already alight. "A pterodactyl aviary? Well, good to see you're thinking big."

"By far one of the most requested animals by guests. The aviary would be constructed into the side of the Western mountains."

"They'd be able to fly around inside right?" Lilah asks.

"Of course. What's the point of a pterodactyl that can't fly?"

"It's gonna have to be a big bird cage."

"We'll make it work."

Nodding, Lilah looks back down at the list. "Well….no one could ever accuse you of a lack of ambition. Expansions to the water park, roller coasters, more rides, a gondola lift, botanical gardens…think we can even fit all this on the island?"

"We have ideas about where to put everything," Claire says. "Of course, part of that means having to dispense with some of the less essential attractions."

"Oh please tell me you're thinking of getting rid of that pointless museum," Lilah says.

"That's certainly on the table," Claire says. "My nephew was here last week and it was pretty much the low point of his trip, so far as I could tell."

"I told Masrani it was meaningless. Who wants to look at skeletons when you have the real deal right outside? Or, close enough anyway…"

"We're thinking of using that space to house the larger marine reptiles," Claire says. "Bottom of the list," and she points at the bottom of the page.

Looking down, Lilah reads the notes. "Wow…..now that might be a bit too ambitious…for now, at least."

"Oh I'm not expecting to get everything on the list…not yet anyway," Claire says.

"Fair enough," Lilah says. As she looks at the bottom of the page, she sees a single word scribbled hastily ion pencil with a question mark next to it

 _Raptors?_

"What's this?" Lilah asks.

"Oh that's just an idea I had at the last minute," Claire says. "When my nephew was here, he asked if we had any raptors. To be honest, I don't even know what they are…but, they're apparently very popular. When I mentioned this to some of my staff, they told me that it's apparently a running joke among the docents. It's the question they get asked most often, apart from 'where are the bathrooms?' that is….is there something wrong?" Claire asks, noticing how stony Lilah's face grows.

"I….it's…it's nothing. Raptors is a common term for _Velociraptor,_ a dinosaur made famous by Dr. Alan Grant in his book about his time on Isla Nublar."

"You mean-?"

"Right. The first park. Raptors are small….for a dinosaur that is. About the size of a person. Very fast, very smart, and very vicious. I don't know what Hammond was thinking having them in his park. Trust me Claire, there's a reason they weren't on our original list for Jurassic World. They're more trouble than they're worth."

"Oh come on, how bad can they be?"

"Claire," Lilah says, lowering her voice and looking deathly serious, "No raptors. Think the intelligence of a dolphin with the aggression of a wolverine, and you're still only about half way to how nasty these things are."

"Sounds like they'd make great attractions then," Claire says, straightening up. "Besides, if they were on the island for the first park, then you must have dealt with them somehow. So then, I repeat – how bad can they be?"

Lilah rests her face in the palms of her hands for two seconds. When she looks back up at Claire, she avoids looking at those inquisitive blue eyes, chewing her tongue for nearly a minute before looking back at the door to the office. "Okay….okay…..I'm going to let you in on a secret. But no one can know about this, do you hear me? If word of what I'm about to tell you gets out, this whole park could be shut down."

Claire feels her heart start to quicken. "What, what is it?"

"Promise first – do not say anything to anyone!"

"Okay, I promise."

Breathing through her nose, Lilah begins. "When we first constructing the park, all the animals were either recaptured or put down if there wasn't enough room for them. All the animals…except for the raptors. When the security perimeter set up by Ingen's private security division started encroaching on their territory, the raptors….well, they fought back, for lack of a better phrase. Soldiers who went into the jungle would be found mutilated beyond recognition."

"Why didn't they just shoot them?"

"Well they tried! But raptors are fast. And they used the cover of the forest to protect themselves. Vic Hoskins wanted to just fire bomb them out, but we couldn't risk something so destructive, not with the eyes of the world just waiting for us to fail. So, we let them have their territory. We sealed them off from the remainder of the island."

"Sealed them off….what, you mean they're still here?" Lilah nods. "Where?" But before Lilah says anything, Claire already pieces it together. "Oh no….you don't mean the nature preserve."

"That was our cover story. Something to shut up the tree huggers. Now, it's been years…..I don't know if they're even still there…what I do know is that Jurassic World is better off without them."

Feeling a challenge, Claire says, "Isn't there anyway we could make it work?"

"I don't see how."

Claire leans back and looks down at the single scribbled word. "I think we can handle them. They would present some unique problems, I can respect that. But this is the most technologically advanced park in the world, and we've been able to handle anything else that's come our way. Hell, we've been able to keep the _T. rex_ in captivity all this time."

Lilah closes her eyes again with a heavy sigh. Finally, she speaks. "Alright Claire. You've done a perfect job of it so far, and you know this place better than anyone. If you really think you can handle raptors, then I trust you. BUT-" she says, interjecting as Claire is about to speak, "But, first you have to demonstrate, in detail, exactly how you plan on keeping them. I'd also like to see a few more carnivores introduced first. You know, as practice."

"Sure, I can do that. These two here on the species list," Claire says, pointing to the document, " _Ceratosaurus_ , _Metriacanthosaurus_ , and _Ornitholestes_ are all about half the size of the _T. rex_ , or less."

"Okay Claire. Next time we have one of these meetings, and you have a solid plan in place, and you've shown that you can keep other carnivores without a problem, then we'll talk about getting some raptors."

"Seems fair enough to me," Claire says, smiling with a sense of victory.

"I also think we should hold off a bit on the water dinosaurs," Lilah says. "Those will see a huge spike in construction costs."

"How about the other species?" Claire asks.

"Hmm…" Lilah says to herself, counting the total number of new animals Claire is asking for. "So, I see here a total of 35 new species you'd like to incorporate into the park. For now, I'm going to cut you down to 20. 20 new species to be introduced over the next 3 years."

"Sounds good to me!" Claire says, with an excited smile, even as a single creeping thought oozes forth in the back of her mind.

 _That's a lot of dinosaurs…._


	13. Chapter 12 - Pushing the Boundaries

"Welcome back, Nation. My guest tonight is a self-described 'chaotician,' and the author of the new book, _Fool Me Twice_. Let's see if he can predict the outcome of this interview. Please welcome – DR. IAN MALCOLM! WHOOO!" Colbert gets up from his desk, and soaks in the applause of the studio audience as he makes his way across the set to the small table at stage left. Sitting there is a man dressed in all black from head to toe, graying hair putting his age toward the 60s. Colbert shakes his hand and takes a seat across from him, the book at his place. "Welcome to the Report, Dr. Malcolm, thank you so much for joining me this evening."

"Well, thank you for having me hear, Stephen."

"Let's get right to it, because if what you've written has anything say about it, Jurassic World is doomed."

"It certainly is, that's why I put it right there in the subtitle."

"Yeah, the full title is _Fool Me Twice_ : _Chaos Theory and the Doom of Jurassic World_. So tell us, Mr. Debby Downer, why is Jurassic World doomed?"

"Stephen, Jurassic World is going to fail for the same reason that Jurassic Park ultimately failed. Which, uh, simply put, is because Jurassic World presents a seemingly simple system that will inevitably express increasingly complex behaviors. For the moment….uh, Jurassic World has existed on the Edge of Chaos."

"And what is 'the Edge of Chaos?'" Colbert asks.

"Ah, well, life…uh, as we know it, is in a constant struggle to maintain some semblance of equilibrium. Living systems are chaotic by their very nature. If you were to reduce that to something too much simpler, they wouldn't be able to function as living systems. On the other hand, if complexity gets out of hand, then the whole system collapses into total chaos."

"So Jurassic World has been able to be in that sort of in between zone," Colbert says. "But you don't think it can last?"

"Not at the rate they're going, no. So the park first opened in 2005, it's been 6 years since, and it seems that every year or so, they introduce more and more new extinct animals to the park. They started with 8 species and now they're up to about 30!"

"Wow, now that's a lot of teeth!"

"It is a lot of teeth, and they're only going to bring in more as time goes on."

"But what I'm wondering is, how come they've been running so smoothly when the first park, Jurassic Park, failed before it even opened. I mean, are you just that unlucky, or?"

Malcolm and the audience share a laugh before he explains. "You know, I think I must be at this point. But no, the failure of the first park had more to do with human error than chaos theory. I get sort of touted, especially by conservation groups, as the 'man who foresaw the demise of Jurassic Park' but that's only half-true. As I explain in my first book, I knew the park would fail, uh, I didn't know it would fail the same day I happened to be going there!"

"So you're just the victim of bad timing," Colbert says.

"Very much so, Stephen. So….uh, yes, the first park would have failed eventually, sabotage or not."

"But why though, isn't it just a zoo?"

"Oh no, Stephen, it is infinitely more complex than a zoo. Zoos take pieces of existing nature and bring them somewhere else. Jurassic World is doing something much more ambitious. It is creating, from the molecular level, a simulation of nature from millions of years ago. What Jurassic World has doesn't exist anywhere on earth, so they had to create it themselves, and that's going to have all sorts of unintended, unforeseen consequences."

"And how long do you think it will take before we start seeing the effects of that. Like, should anyone with a reservation for next week cancel the trip, or-?"

"Well, at this point, uh, I would just advise anyone to just not go there. There is no way of knowing just when things will start disintegrating, but certainly the more the park expands, the faster it will happen."

"Can you think of any examples of this – this 'living system' as you call it, manifesting this complex behavior?"

"Uh, specific examples are way too numerous to mention all of them. But think along the lines of, uh, unexpected behaviors on the part of the animals, that couldn't be anticipated by the park staff, uh, how the dinosaurs interact with modern plants and animals, as well as diseases, uh, uh, the dependence of the park on complex technologies that are never reliable in the long run, you know, those sorts of things."

"See, uh, I'm gonna go ahead and say that, you, are, wrong sir," Stephen says, to the laugher of the audience. "Because there is another factor at work here, the Free Market! The Market has spoken, and Jurassic World works, sir. It works, Jurassic World is pulling in profits that make Disney World look like crap!"

Malcolm smiles softly and says, "Well you are right about profits, uh, money being a factor. The only reason this park exists in the first place, after two disastrous previous attempts, uh, is the profit factor. I have heard it said before that, uh, where there is money to be made, people will make the same mistakes twice."

"If it turns out that you are right….again….and this park does eventually collapse, do you think they'll try it again?"

"Hmm…" Malcolm says, thinking to himself. "You know, if what we've seen is any indication, then yes, eventually, they will. Give it time, and they will try again, if they think they can make money from it."

"So you think, that, if like 20,000 people get eaten by dinosaurs, then, like, 20 years later, Ingen will think to themselves, 'well, you know, was it _really_ that bad?'"

"Yes, yes, yes, if tragedy could sway these people, then we wouldn't have Jurassic World in the first place."

"Dr. Malcolm, thank you so much for joining me this evening," Stephen says, holding out his hand for Malcolm to shake. "The book is _Fool_ _Me Twice: Chaos Theory and the Doom of Jurassic World_. We'll be right back!"

2 WEEKS LATER

Karen stands by the front doors to the towering skyscraper, watching throngs of nearly-identically-dressed business personnel drift in and out. A few feet behind her, leaning against the side of the building, a short figure with curly brown hair stares down at his Nintendo DS, currently engaged in an epic battle against the Elite Four. The sound of the game is drowned out by the din of traffic, both from cars and on foot. The only speck of color in all the business district comes from the green plants, growing up against backdrops of black and slate grey. The dull air is reinforced by bleak, grey clouds overhead.

"She's going to be here soon, so you might want to think about saving," Karen says, half turning to her son. He continues pressing buttons and tapping at the screen, as if he hadn't heard her. But Karen turns her full attention back to the dozens of men and women filing in and out the building.

Finally, she catches a flash of stark white with a tinge of vibrant orange on top. "Claire!" she calls out into the horde.

Claire spins to her right, scanning for a second before she finds Karen standing by the edge of the doors by the sidewalk. Smiling with an open mouth, she makes her way through the crowd, coming up to Karen and embracing her in quick but heartfelt hug. "It's so good to see you!" Claire says, stepping back to look her sister in the eyes.

"It's good to see you too!" Karen says. She turns to the boy and says, "G rey, come say hi to your Aunt Claire."

Grey stashes the DS in a brown pouch hanging from his hip, having apparently taken his mother's advice to save before Claire arrived. He takes a few steps toward her, stopping about five feet away, just starting up at her.

"It's okay, sweety, come on," Karen says, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently pushing him toward Claire. Eventually he concedes and goes up to Claire, hugging her around the waist. His hands touch each other at the point just above her buttocks, and he releases them after less than a second before stepping back.

"Your brother was the same way, why are they always so shy around me?" Claire asks.

"Beats me," Karen says with a shrug. "So you want to get lunch."

"Oh god yes, I'm starving," Claire says.

"Where do you want to go?" Karen asks.

Looking down both sides of the street, Claire says, "Hmm…actually, I know a really good Italian place a few blocks away. Wanna take a cab?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Karen says, rummaging through her purse. "How much do you think it would cost?"

"Oh don't worry about that," Claire says, holding up her own purse. "My treat. No problem"

"You're sure?" Karen says, raising her eyebrows.

"Karen, come on. I think I can handle cab fare. Now, come on, let's go," she says, stepping to the curb and putting up her hand. Within a few moments, a grungy yellow car pulls up beside them. Both women take the window seats while the shorter-legged Grey takes the center.

Looking down at her smartphone, Claire calls up to the driver, "Uh, to….Buona Forchetta? On Beech Street." The driver gives her a small grunt and a nod before the car pulls forward into the river of traffic. "I think that's how it's pronounced," she says to Karen.

"Am I going to like anything at this place?" Grey pipes up in between them.

"Do you like spaghetti and meatballs?" Claire asks.

"Yeah."

"Then you'll like this place," Claire says confidently.

Within a few minutes, the cap pulls up to the curb beside a very fancy looking restaurant. Once the driver is fiscally satisfied, they exit the car, and he pulls away behind them. "Are you sure about this Claire?" Karen asks. "This looks….a little fancy."

"Perhaps," Claire says, rummaging around in her purse. "Good thing Simon Masrani will be footing the bill," she says with a smile as she pulls out a credit card.

Karen smiles deviously at her sister. "Does this really qualify as a business expense?"

"What? I'm here, I need to eat, and if my sister and my nephew just so happen to be in town, well, thems the breaks," Claire says with a shrug. "Come on, I'm starving."

The three of them are comfortably sitting at a table within 15 minutes of having arrived, thanks in no small part to the 50 that Claire slipped the maître-d when they first arrived. Looking over the menu, Grey furrows his brow. "I can't read any of this," he says in a frustrated voice.

"It's okay sweety, let me help you," Karen says, leaning over toward him. "What are you looking for?"

"She said they had spaghetti and meatballs."

"Okay, so you're having trouble with the cursive letters?" she asks. He nods, and she continues. "That's okay Grey, you'll learn more about cursive writing later. But look, here's pasta…and there's the spaghetti. So when the waiter comes over and asks for food, just say you want spaghetti with meatballs."

"Okay," Grey says in a quiet voice.

"So Grey," Karen says, in a slightly higher voice. "Aren't you at all interested in what Aunt Claire was doing at her meeting?"

"No," Grey says in a matter of fact voice.

"Grey," Karen says, not angry but using a very pointed voice. "Remember what we talked about?"

Grey looks down away from his menu, thinking. Though he seems to pout for a moment, he looks back up at Claire and asks. "What did you talk about in your meeting?"

"Well, thank you for asking Grey," Claire says, giving a playful look over at Karen. "I was actually talking to my bosses about some of the new dinosaurs we want to bring to Jurassic World."

Grey drops his menu almost instantly and looks genuinely interested in his aunt for the first time. "New dinosaurs? Which new dinosaurs? Are you going to have Carcharodontosaurus? Giganotosaurus? Are you going to have any marine reptiles?"

"Grey, Grey!" Karen says, laughing and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Let Aunt Claire answer your questions."

When he manages to settle down, Claire says, "We thought a lot about what kinds of animals would make the most sense to bring back. Also remember, we have limited space on the island. We can't just bring back every dinosaur, there wouldn't be enough room for them all! So we actually decided not to have any more giant meat eaters like _Carcharodontosaurus_ or _Giganotosaurus_." She notices that Grey looks a bit crestfallen. "But," she says, "that means that we have the room to create some of the large marine reptiles!"

"Which ones?" Grey asks, already back to full enthusiasm.

"Well, if I remember the names correctly: _Kronosaurus_ , _Elasmosaurus_ , O…Othal…something?"

" _Opthalmosaurus_?" Grey finishes for her.

"That's the one!" she says, "And…oh where was I…uh, oh right, _Mosasaurus_."

" _Mosasaurus, Mosasaurus, Mosasaurus, Mosasaurus, Mosasaurus_!" Grey almost shouts with pure unbridled delight as he jumps up and down in his seat.

"Grey, Grey!" his mother says, putting her hand on his shoulder with a firm grip. "Sweety, remember, we're in a restaurant."

Grey manages to calm himself down in time for the drinks to arrive: two ice waters and a caffeine-free diet coke. "What else?" he asks.

"We're finally getting raptors," Claire says. "Your brother will be excited about that, I'm sure."

"They're not called raptors, they're called dromaeosaurids," Grey says, almost offended by the use of 'the r word.'

"Grey, remember, not everyone knows as much as you do," Karen says.

"Well, whatever you want to call them, they're coming to Jurassic World," Claire says, slightly taken aback by the outburst. "Your brother asked me if we had any when he came to the park."

Grey shakes his head. "Zach doesn't like dinosaurs."

"What? Why not?" Claire asks.

"Because he's as dumb as a butt."

Claire nearly bursts out laughing. "Oh, Grey….I'm sure he's not that bad."

"Yeah he is."

"Awww, that's not a very nice thing to say about your brother," Claire sasy.

"He doesn't say nice things about me either," Grey says.

Stepping in, Karen says, "Aunt Claire, why don't you tell us more about the new dinosaurs coming to Jurassic World?"

"Hmm….let's see if I can say this correctly," she says, clearing her throat. " _Quetzalcoatlus_ ," she says very deliberately.

A loud banging sound hits the table from underneath as Grey once more explodes in his seat. Karen tries to calm him down once more and says, "Grey, sweety, why don't you go outside and do some of your exercises, okay?"

"Okay," Grey says, getting out of his seat, and heading toward the front doors.

"I see what you mean," Claire says once he's gone.

"Yeah," Karen says with a light sigh in her voice. "Raising him has had its fair share of challenges so far."

"Well, so far so good, I would say," Claire says, taking a sip of water. "He seems like a sweet enough kid. Smart too. I didn't know any of those names before talks to further expand the park began."

"I know," Karen says, giving a small smile. "So how's everything been on the island?"

"Ugh, the past year has been insane," Claire says, putting her forehead in her left hand. "My bosses have been on my ass trying to get profits up."

"Why?" Karen asks. "Isn't Jurassic World still making tons of money?"

"Sure, but tons of money isn't enough for them. They want mega tons. Every time we unveil a new attraction, the pressure is on me to top it the next time the board decides to expand. And by the time the new attractions are up, they're already talking about 'the next big thing!'"

"Has there been, like, a decline in attendance?" Karen asks.

"Sort of….but not really," Claire says. "Attendance in the Spring and Autumn months has declined a bit, but overall revenue continues to climb. But not enough to meet rising operating costs, which only get higher with all the new attractions. It's like an endless cycle. And I don't know what I'm going to do for the next phase of expansion."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've pretty much exhausted all the biggest, best dinosaurs," Claire says, pulling her hair. " _T._ _rex_ , _Triceratops_ , _Apatosaurus_ , etc. etc. Those are all anyone really wants to see. All the other dinosaurs just present a variation on those themes – the meat eater, the long neck, the horned one, the spiky one, you know? We've been able to get by on a lot of novelty, you know, like strange horns or crests, or sometimes even dinosaurs with cool-sounding names, like _Diabloceratops_. But that's not what our focus groups want, apparently."

"What do they want?"

"They want things that don't exist," Claire says, throwing her hands up. "They want giant meat eaters that stomp around, roaring all the time, with spikes growing out of every damn skin cell, with huge arms and grasping hands with gigantic talons, and….they want dinosaurs like they see in movies. They want movie monsters, not animals."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about that. It's not your fault that the thing they want doesn't exist."

"Tell that to the Board of Directors," Claire says in an exhausted voice.

"But Claire, it doesn't exist! What are you supposed to do about that?"

Claire looks away from her sister, thinking to herself. _What can I do, indeed…_


	14. Chapter 13 - Dr Wu's Bright Idea

Sitting at her desk, Vivian gets her station ready for the coming day. She's already receiving confirmation check ins from many areas of the park. She pauses only to take small sips of the late sitting by the right hand side of her desk. She savors the quiet of the morning, before the standard chaos of the day floods the control room.

Lowery takes his seat to her left, something in his hand. When Vivian looks over, she sees a small, plastic _Ankylosaurus_ grasped in his fingers. "Another one for the collection?" she asks him.

"Yeppers," he says, cleaning it with his shirt as if it were a pair of glasses before carefully placing it in a row of similar plastic dinosaur figures lining the top of his workspace.

Vivian eyes the collection before saying to Lowery, "You know those are all out of date right?"

Lowery shrugs and says, "What can I say, I like a little vintage charm." The figures make no claim of accuracy, with gaping mouths lined with sharp teeth (even among the supposed herbivores) and bulging cartoon eyes. "Say, are you doing anything this Saturday?"

"No, why?"

"It's my annual Jurassic Park Anniversary celebration!" he says throwing up his hands, "Whoo!"

"Ah, yes, right," Vivian says, remembering Lowery's invitations from previous years.

"Want to stop by? There'll be snacks! And booze!" he says, giving her a pair of thumbs up.

Vivian rolls her eyes very slightly and says, "I don't know…."

"Aww, come on. You said you weren't doing anything!"

 _Damnit_ , Vivian thinks to herself. _Usually I'm better at establishing excuses_. "Um….I don't know…."

"Come on, it'll be fun, I promise!"

Eyeing him curiously, she says, "What exactly do you do at these things?"

Spreading his hands, Lowery says, "Why, it's a commemoration, Vivian. A salute to those who lost their lives during Ingen's first attempt at establishing a dinosaur theme park."

"A commemoration," Vivian says, "involving booze?"

"We drown our sorrows," Lowery says. "We read passages from the works of Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm. We watch amateur video taken on Isla Sorna on YouTube before Masrani bought the island."

"Who else is coming to this?" Vivian asks.

"Uh…well, I have a couple guys I met at college coming down for the occasion."

"Anyone from work?" she asks.

"Not….yet, as such, no, but that's why I'm asking you!" Lowery says.

"Are you going to ask anyone else from work?"

"Maybe," Lowery says, with a small shrug. "You know….Jake, Scott….maybe Jade. Claire-"

"Oh don't bother asking Claire," Vivian says.

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding? She's still reeling!"

Lowery gets a confused look on his face. "Reeling from….?"

"You didn't hear?" Vivian asks, looking around the control room. She leans in close, and lowers her voice to near a whisper. "She and Zara broke up!"

"Broke up?" he calls out, prompting Vivian to smack him lightly on the head and shush him. "Oh, well….what do you mean they broke up? Since when were they dating in the first place?"

Vivian has to work very hard not to laugh. "Uh, since 6 years ago…?"

"What?!" Lowery almost shouts. "Why didn't anyone say anything to me?"

"We thought you knew!" Vivian says, giggling softly. "I thought pretty much everyone knew. I mean, isn't it obvious?"

"Not to me it wasn't!"

"Well, I mean, they were always so playful together. Always flirting and joking. And didn't they seem just a bit too….familiar with each other? Considering that they were supposed to have a more professional relationship. I mean, they were so bad at hiding it, I figured they wanted people to know."

"I…I…" Lowery stutters trying to recall any unusual forms of behavior exhibited by his supervisor and her executive assistant. Suddenly, a flood of casual conversations comes rushing into his memory, carrying the faintest traces of subtle, ambiguous hints that may or may not have pointed in the direction of a sordid, hidden love affair. "My god," he says. "But then, why did they break up now?"

Vivian shrugs. "No one knows for sure. Obviously no one's going to just ask them. As far as anyone can tell, basically, Zara wanted to be open about the relationship instead of having to hide it, but Claire didn't want to risk losing her job because of it."

"That's kinda sad," Lowery says.

"Like I said," Vivian says, "she's still reeling. Tread very cautiously around her, Lowery. You never know what might set her off."

"Good to know," he says, looking toward her office. "Is that why Zara's not here? Claire didn't fire her did she?"

Vivian shakes her head and says, "Nah, Zara just took a week off to spend time with family. She'll be back next Tuesday"

"Quite the coincidence," Lowery says

"Oh coincidence my ass," Vivian says. "A week apart is just what those two need right now."

"How is Zara possibly going to keep working for Claire after this?"

"I don't know," Vivian says. "And frankly, I doubt Zara does either. I mean, it's not a bad job. Pay's good, full benefits, free access to the world's greatest theme park. Plus she's really good at it. I think she's hoping that they'll be able to move on."

"I sure hope they can," Lowery says, before turning back to Vivian. "So, you're coming this Saturday, right?"

Vivian hangs her head, and with a deep sigh, she looks back up at him and says. "Okay, MAYBE, I'll stop by for a half hour or something. MAYBE," she says, pointing at him.

At that moment, Claire steps out of her office and calls out to the entire control room. "Alright, listen up everyone. I'm going to an Asset Development meeting with Dr. Wu. If anyone needs me, take a message…and tell them to go fuck themselves," she says the last part under her breathe as she strolls toward the elevator.

When Claire steps into the elevator, she moves to the right, making room for a second person who isn't there. When the doors close, the elevator remains in place, unmoving. Claire nearly forgets to push the button to the bottom floor. As the elevator begins sliding down the shaft at a snail's pace, cold tears begin to trickle down Claire's rosy cheeks. The tears are joined by soft sobs that escape like hoarse breaths from her mouth. The sound of sniffles fills the elevator as Claire holds her face in her hands, feeling a horrible sinking feeling drop from the bottom of her heart to the pit of her stomach. Her moment comes to an end as she feels the elevator begin to slow down as it approaches the ground floor. Taking a long, deep breath, she swallows her sobs, wipes away the tears from her eyes, and stands up straight and tall. When the door opens, no one who laid eyes on her would have ever guessed that she'd been quietly weeping just a few seconds earlier.

Stepping out into an empty hallway, Claire rounds a corner to the right. The long corridor stretches a few hundred feet in front of her. The walls to the left are clear glass, behind which lies a pure white laboratory populated entirely by men and women wearing white lab coats. Blue screens highlighted the subjects of their research. To one corner, elaborate incubators house a collection of eggs, varying in from the size of a pebble to a grapefruit. Each on is marked by a distinctive QR code.

At the entrance to the lab stands the short, thin frame of Dr. Henry Wu. He waves to her, and she waves back. "Hey Henry," she says in a lazy voice, forcing a smile as she gets closer to him.

"Good morning, Claire!" he says, not noticing her diminished demeanor. "Shall we head on over to my office, then? Get started?"

"Might as well," she says, following him.

Wu's office is located in a corner of the lab, cut off from the distracting business of the noisy tourists just beyond the glass walls. It's small, furnished with nothing more than a table, a couple of chairs, a file cabinet, and Wu's work computer. On the table are a few items of note, including a number of specimens of amber, a desk lamp, and a cast of a _Tyrannosaurus_ tooth. "Please, take a seat," Wu says, gesturing to the other chair in the room. Claire, takes the seat without a word. "So I have the design that you requested," he says, pulling his computer close to him. After a few seconds worth of typing, he turns the monitor to show her the image.

When she looks at the screen, she sees the form of a single animal, like a large eagle or hawk with wings folded to its sides. But instead of a hooked beak, its feathered face ends in a naked snout, and within its jaws are dozens of backwards pointing, needle like teeth. The wings, small for a bird, grow from hands with three fingers, the first finger being the only one free of the wing feathers. Each finger is tipped in a fierce, curving claw. The animal is balanced by a long, stiff tail, a fan of long, colorful feathers growing all around the tip. One of the only parts not covered in feathers are the feet, textured with pebbly scales and long plate-like reticulae along the toes. The second toe of each foot is held off the ground as it stands, bearing an enormous, curving talon larger than the others that surround it. "So what do you think?" Wu asks, after Claire stares at the model for a nearly a minute without saying anything.

"What-? Oh, uh….no, right, it's fine, it's great," Claire says, as if coming out of a trance.

"How many do you want to breed?" Wu asks.

"Um….hmm…I think four was the number requested by the board," Claire says.

"Four? No problem," Wu says.

"Oh," Claire says, as if finally remembering where she is, "Any chance we can make them all different colors? I want to make it easy to tell them apart."

"Easily," Wu says. "Any preference?"

Claire shakes her head. "No, just as long as they're all different."

"Not a problem at all," Wu says with a strongly confident air. "Have you managed to find training staff yet?"

"Ugh," Claire says, slumping down in her chair on the table. "No, I'm sorry, Henry. I've just been a little….preoccupied at the moment. I have a few leads, I just need to get on it is all."

"No worries here," Wu says. "Just a few things to keep in mind: you're going to want someone who is well acquainted with the intelligence of both birds of prey and social predators such as wolves or hyenas. Raptors are unique in that they seem to combine different aspects from the behavioral intelligence of both kinds of animals. Also, whoever you get, make sure that they are available to be here on the island when the eggs hatch. It is imperative that they are here for the chicks to imprint on."

"Yeah, I got it, Henry," she says, almost exhausted. "Anything else?"

"Not from my end," Wu says. "Anything from yours?"

Claire shakes her head. "Nope, I'm good," she says, almost snickering at the irony of that statement.

Wu raises an eyebrow, noticing her tone for the first time. "Are you alright, Claire? You look a little….down."

"It's nothing, Henry," she says with a wave of her hand, "Just work stuff, nothing too major."

"That last board meeting get to you?" Wu asks.

"Just a little bit, yeah," Claire says, another worry rising up from the pit of her gut to join her current woes. "The board's just been on my ass about upping the ante. I don't know what to do at this point. I'm all out of ideas. People want bigger, nastier dinosaurs, but there just aren't any."

"What do you mean?" Wu asks.

"It's like…" Claire begins before pausing, trying to think of the right way to describe it. "When you ask people what's their favorite dinosaur, you always get the same answers: _T. rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus_ , etc. etc. And we have those already, those are the ones we've had from the start. The only major dinosaur favorite we didn't have was the _Velociraptor_ , and now that's changing. We've added dozens of new assets over the last six years, but none have been able to top our first generation. We front-loaded too much. Nothing can top what we already have. We can add as many new species as we want, and we do see a minor spike in attendance every time a new asset is revealed. But it's a matter of quantity over quality.

"Like….okay, think about this. We have four species of long-necked dinosaur: _Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus_ , and _Camarasaurus_ , right? But most guests can't tell the difference between them. So, like, what's the point of just adding more? Same thing with big meat eaters. We already have _T. rex_ , nothing can top that. So we're stuck in this position where the Board wants us to keep creating better dinosaurs, but there are none. We already have all the best. So what am I supposed to do?" She nearly slams her forehead on the table, and hides her head in her arms.

Wu sits back in his seat as his mind begins to race, connecting disparate thoughts and piecing together potential ideas. "What if…" he begins tentatively, "you could make…..new dinosaurs."

Slowly lifting her head to look at him, she says, "What do you mean?"

"Well…it seems to me that your main problem is that you are limited by nature to the dinosaurs that we know from the fossil record. Is that accurate?"

"…Right…?" Claire says.

"Well, what if you weren't limited like that?" Wu says. "What if you had a way of figuring out what exactly people wanted from their dinosaur attractions, and you could create dinosaurs specifically tailored to cater to those expectations?"

Cocking an eyebrow, Claire leans in slightly closer to him and says, "How could you do that?"

"Before Masrani recruited me to head Asset Development at Jurassic World, I was mostly focused on genetic hybridization. While the research hadn't gotten very far by the time our priorities had been reassigned, we did have a lot of success with the little we had accomplished."

"Oh right…" Claire says, as if recalling a lost file in her memory and brushing off years' worth of cognitive dust. "Didn't you create a hybrid flower or something?"

"That's right," Wu says, smiling to himself. "I think the same basic techniques could be adapted here at Jurassic World. More research would be needed, of course, but I think there's a lot of potential here."

"So you're talking about creating a hybrid dinosaur," Claire says.

"That's right."

"I don't know….I mean….I guess it kinda feels like…cheating, in a way?" Claire says, struggling to find the right words. "I don't know, it just doesn't feel quite right. We've only ever had real dinosaurs here."

"See that's the thing though, we haven't," Wu says, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Even with advancements in both genetics and paleontology, our assets are still only facsimiles of the real thing, cobbled together chimeras of different individuals, sometimes even different species. Even with nearly 100% genomic accuracy for some species, they still don't represent anything natural. We tamper with DNA to do things like accelerate growth rates to meet deadlines, or protect against modern disease."

Claire can tell that Wu had been harboring these thoughts for a very long time, and this was the first chance he'd gotten to express them to somebody important. It makes her even more critical of his suggestion. "Regardless," she begins, "An attraction like that would signify a huge shift. We've always presented our assets as reasonable reconstructions of the animals they're meant to represent. You know, you see our _Stegosaurus_ and you recognize that it's supposed to be _Stegosaurus_. Creating something, more or less, from whole-cloth, and presenting it…..uh…..like, presenting it as such is a totally different approach. That's something I'd need to get the Board's approval for."

"I will personally make the case for you," Wu says, sitting up. "As Head of Ingen's Bio-technology Department, I can convince them that I can make it work."

Claire gives him a curious look. "You'd go to that much trouble?"

Wu shrugs and says, "What can I say? My research was interrupted ten years ago to just clone more dinosaurs for Masrani. I would do anything to get right back to it."

"Uh huh," Claire says, nodding slowly. "Well, I still don't know if that's….a route I want to go down. I see where you're coming from…..and God knows I'm getting desperate enough to try just about everything, but…..eh, just let me think about it for a while."

"Of course," Wu says with a very self-satisfied smile.

Claire gets up from the table. "Alright, I'm gonna….I don't know, find a nice cave to hide in somewhere," she says quietly to herself.


	15. Chapter 14 - The Go Ahead

Masrani Global  
International Genetics Technology  
Jurassic World

To: Dr. Henry Wu  
From: Ms. Lilah Martin  
Subject: Proposed Hybrid Asset

After discussing your proposal to create and exhibit a genetically hybridized asset for Jurassic World, the Masrani Global board of directors has concluded that this proposal is not only sound, but represents the most sensible direction to take the park into the future. We agree that all of the most lucrative assets from the fossil record have already been exhausted, and that the only way to meet consumer demands at this point is to directly create assets that match visitor expectations.

Masrani Global CEO, Simon Masrani, has also approved of this decision. Although we all recognize the drastic shift that this will entail as goes the park's public image and its self-presentation, we also understand that the desires of the consumers of the world are bound to change over time, that the park's survival depends on its ability to adapt to those changing desires.

The board requests that a selected group of visitors representing key demographics be assembled to research exactly what consumers wish to see in a specifically designed hybridized asset. This data will be compiled and used to design the asset, at which point, these designs will be submitted to the board for approval. Once approval has been given, Asset Development will proceed with construction of the asset as well as related amenities.

Designs will be submitted no later than January 2nd, 2012.

Sincerely,

Lilah Martin  
Vice President  
Masrani Global.


	16. Chapter 15 - Owen

**October 11, 2011**

Cold plastic rims press against the skin around his eyes as he peers through binocular lenses high into the sky. Pale blue, mixed with wisps of dull gray clouds, fill his vision. His head turns slowly to the left as he scans the atmospheric expanse, looking for even the tiniest speck of a disturbance. He starts to worry, but a harsh, screeching cry rings out over the hills, and he smiles to himself. "At a girl," he says in a quiet voice.

The sound of a soft breeze around him is joined by a dull roar from behind. Turning around, he sees a cloud of dust over a small car, crawling its way down the dirt road toward him. Watching it curiously, he puts down the binoculars hanging around his neck by a leather strap. The small black car comes to a stead stop directly behind him. Shortly after the dust settles, a man steps out of the passenger seat. "Good morning!" he calls out in a thick Indian accent.

The man checks his watch and corrects the newcomer.

"Uh, nope. You're about 10 minutes too late."

"Oh well," Masrani says, waving his hand, "no matter. Time gets away from us all, sometimes."

"True enough," the man says, approaching Masrani. "So, I take it you're Mr. Simon Masrani."

"That I am," Masrani says, offering his hand. "And I take it you're Mr. Owen Grady."

"Eh….never really been much of a Mr." he says, shaking Masrani's hand. "Owen's just fine by me."

"Very well then, Owen."

Looking around at the otherwise empty landscape, Owen says, "So, uh, what brings you out to my neck of the woods?"

"Oh nothing much. Just wanted to talk."

"You know," Owen says, cracking a smile, "If you wanted to talk, there's this device you can use for that. Called a telephone."

"Phones are for things that can wait," Masrani says, giving a smile of his own.

"I gotcha," Owen says with a small nod. "Man on a mission."

"I was very disappointed to hear that you declined our offer," Masrani says, pushing on with the point at hand.

Owen shrugs. "What can I say, she just couldn't sell me on it."

"And why do you think that was?"

Owen puts a hand on his hip and tilts his head to think. "I don't know, something just felt off for me," he says. "I guess…..I don't-I…..I guess it was her tone more than anything that just…didn't seem quite right for me."

"Do explain," Masrani says.

"There was just something in her voice that was just…like, disconnected, I guess. I guess when you're one of those corporate higher ups, you kinda lose touch….uh, no offense, that is," he quickly adds, gesturing to Masrani.

"That's possible," Masrani says. "In fairness to our park manager, she has many things she has to worry about."

"True enough," Owen says. "But….in my humble opinion….when you're running an animal park like that, the animals really should be at the top of your priorities. You get disconnected from that fact, and it doesn't bode well for them."

"I can assure you, Owen, the animals of Jurassic World are absolutely the top priority of everyone who works there. Claire might sometimes get caught up in her other responsibilities, but the care and happiness of all of our resident species is our highest priority."

"That could very well be," Owen says, quickly glancing up at the sky. "And I don't doubt that everyone directly involved in your animal husbandry departments cares very deeply for all the animals you have there. But big zoos and animal parks that operate for profit just don't feel quite right for me….and yours in particular leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Masrani spreads his hands and says, "I'm listening."

Giving a single laugh through his nose, Owen takes a moment to choose his words very carefully. "Well," he starts tentatively, "It's…...okay, let me ask you this. Why did you decide to build Jurassic World in the first place? I mean, Ingen had tried building a dinosaur theme park twice in decade before you opened, and both times failed disastrously. After all the suffering and tragedy, what would compel a person to make the same mistake a third time?"

All throughout Owen's explanation, Masrani's face grows stonier. At one point, he looks down at the ground. When he get the question, he forces himself to look back at Owen and says, "That's a story in and of itself."

"I've got time. I assume you do too."

"Well," Masrani says as a preface as he recalls the circumstances of the last 15 years that brought him to this very spot, "It all started when John Hammond passed away in 1997, shortly after the incident in San Diego. Before passing, John wanted me to purchase Ingen and all of its assets in order to protect them from those who'd want to exploit them for profit."

Owen lets out a single chuckle. "Sorry," he says, "It's just…..well, come on, I mean, you gotta see the irony in that, right?"

"I can see how it might look that way," Masrani says. "But what you have to understand is that in the years after Hammond's death, both of Ingen's islands – Isla Sorna in particular – were being regularly raided by poachers from the mainland. This resulted in immense loss of life of both the animals and humans. In Jurassic World, the animals are safe from poachers, and with the money made from the park, we can afford to maintain a perimeter around Isla Sorna to protect the animals there."

Owen nods. "Okay, I gotcha, I gotcha. I can see where you're coming from…but…..I don't know, I'm not wholeheartedly convinced that that's what John Hammond meant for you to do."

"Neither am I," Masrani says solemnly, "No one is, no one can be. Hammond isn't around to tell us himself. But whatever Hammond ultimately meant, the fact is that the animals are safe. The animals on Isla Nublar have access to clean water, more food than they can eat, and the best in state-of-the-art medical care."

"Not denying that," Owen says, holding up his hands, "I expect nothing less with all the money you guys rake in. But the fact remains that you guys make money off those animals. You may do good things with that money, and those animals may not mind it one lick. But you're still doing it. And if it's not too bold to say, I'd warn you against trying to kid yourself otherwise."

After a moment, Masrani smiles. "Fair point. I like your spirt, Mr. Grady."

"Thanks," Owen says, unfazed. "And remember, Owen."

"Right, right, sorry," Masrani says. "But the same could be said for zoos and animal parks around the world."

"There's one important difference," Owen says. "Zoos today serve a vital role in animal conservation. Without them, a good number of species would probably be extinct. Hell, thanks to poaching, there are some animals that exist only in captivity now. That's one thing the supposed animal-rights activists conveniently forget whenever they rant against zoos.

"But at Jurassic World, the animals are already extinct. Not only don't they exist anywhere else in the world, they can't exist anywhere else. They're created for purposes of entertainment, and that's something that just doesn't sit well with me. You have this incredible technology, which you could be using to help so many people. Instead, you bring back creatures that don't fit into the modern world in anyway, and trap them on an island for the sole purpose of having people gawk at them. I mean, what does that say about us? That's what we do with this power, we resurrect some of the most powerful animals ever to live on this planet just so we can charge dumb tourists an outrageous fee just to look at them for a minute before getting bored with them? It's not exactly the noblest use of that power."

"Now hang on," Masrani says, now starting to get defensive. "I don't think you're giving us fair credit. When people come to Jurassic World, they experience the unimaginable beauty of these creatures, and it instills them with a sense of wonder and awe at the world in which we all live in. Jurassic World exists as a reminder to everyone how small and new we are as a species."

Owen doesn't answer for a few seconds. "You really think so?" he asks quietly, almost pityingly.

"I know so," Masrani says. "And you will too."

"What makes you say that?"

"I have come to personally invite you to stay a week at Jurassic World, completely free of charge. Transportation, food and drink, stay, everything will be totally covered."

Owen looks taken aback by the offer as his eye brows rise slightly. "Oh, uh…..that's….that's very generous of you, sir, but I don't know if I should…"

"Please, Owen," Masrani say, taking a step forward, "If you're going to reject our offer, at least see what exactly it is we're offering you. Give us a fair crack of the whip, and if you still don't like what you see, you'll never hear from us again."

Owen looks back up at the sky as he thinks. "You really want me, don't you?"

"Most qualified man for the job," Masrani says.

"At the risk of sounding vain, why exactly is that?"

"According to our head geneticist, we need someone who is experienced working with social predators as well as birds of prey. You spent 5 years training dolphins for the US Navy, correct?"

"That's right," Owen says, spotting something overhead. "And speaking of birds of prey-" he says before letting out a sharp whistle from behind his lips.

Masrani turns around and looks up to see something small and dark shoot down toward them from high above. Owen holds out his right arm, a large, brown glove covering his hand all the way down to his elbow. The small form slows down as it approaches them, revealing itself to be a red-tailed hawk. Landing on Owen's glove, it flaps its wings three times before folding them at its sides. Clenched in its hooked bill is a young rabbit, bloody gashes running along its sides. Resting its catch on the top of Owen's forearm, it begins tearing out chunks of rabbit flesh and swallowing them whole.

Masrani chuckles at the sight of the bird. "Gorgeous!" he says. "Does it name?"

"Yes she does," Owen says, emphasizing the pronoun. "Her name's Abby. Named her after an ex girlfriend."

"Bad breakup?"

"Not at all," Owen says. "She just used to keep her fingernails really long."

Masrani laughs at that. "How long have you had her?"

"Oh….2 years, 3 years? Something like that," he says, stroking the feathers at the back of her neck.

"You must be really close," Masrani says.

Owen shrugs. "Well, they're not exactly the most affectionate animals. But she does trust me. And I trust her not to fly away and never come back, so we have that going for us at any rate."

"So what do you say, Owen?" Masrani says, getting back to the matter at hand. "Will you come down to visit us at Jurassic World?"

"I don't know," Owen says, keeping his eye on the hawk. "I mean, I'd have to get the time off…"

"Whatever it takes," Masrani says. "I will personally call your supervisor. I will even pay you for your trouble out of my own pocket."

Now Owen's attention is piqued. "Really?" Masrani nods. "Huh…..how much?"

Masrani reaches into his pocket and takes out a checkbook and a pen. "How much will it take?"

Owen gives Masrani a wide grin and says, "Alright, Mr. Masrani, you got me. How about we set up a trip for….let's say, three weeks from now?"

"It's a deal," Masrani says, holding out his hand.

Owen takes it, but as he does, he says, "Now remember, I'm only agreeing to the trip. I'm not promising that I'll be your dino-trainer. And if I still don't want to, I don't ever want to hear from Masrani Global ever again. Deal?"

"Deal," Masrani says with a self-satisfied smile.

To: vhoskins  
From: hwu  
Subject: re:Research Update  
Date: November 8, 2011

Vic Hoskins-

I look forward to seeing you! After you arrive, meet me at the Hammond Creation Lab (the old Visitor's Center is being redone, so you might have to push your way through construction). We can talk in my office.

-Henry Wu

To: hwu  
From: vhoskins  
Subject: re:Research Update  
Date: November 6, 2011

Henry-

This is fantastic news! I'm very excited for you, and I'm sure you can't wait to get to work! But before you do, I'd like to meet with you to discuss this project with you privately. Believe it or not, I've got a few ideas about where to go with this project, ideas that could mean big things for both of us if everything goes as planned. I'll be more comfortable talking about it in person (never knowing who might be seeing this, know what I mean?) I'll be stopping by Isla Nublar to do a routine check in with ACU. While I'm there, I'd love to meet with you to talk more about this development. If you can make the time, I promise it'll be worth your while.

-Vic Hoskins.

To: vhoskins  
From: hwu  
Subject: re:Research Update  
Date: November 6, 2011

Vic Hoskins-

Good day to you, sir. It's been a while since last we talked. I remember years ago you told me to keep you updated on any potential developments as goes our research here at Jurassic World. Sadly, after six years of operation, it's mostly been business as usual here at Isla Nublar. But I recently received the go ahead to begin working on the research and development of a new kind of asset for the park – a genetically hybridized dinosaur. Exactly what this asset will look like and what components it will be made are not known at this time (research is ongoing), but it nonetheless marks an exciting turn in the research being conducted here at Jurassic World.

Hope you are well.

-Henry Wu


	17. Chapter 16 - Visitor Survey

Jurassic World Visitor Survey  
Masrani Global

Hello! Before we begin, we'd like to thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The information you give us will help us to further improve the visitor experience at Jurassic World. Please answer each of the following questions to the best of your abilities. There are no wrong answers here!

1\. Please look at the list of dinosaurs below. If you recognize the dinosaur by its name, please place a checkmark next to it. If you do not recognize the dinosaur, please leave it unmarked.

 _\- Tyrannosaurus rex  
\- Triceratops  
\- Stegosaurus  
\- Apatosaurus  
\- Velociraptor  
\- Ankylosaurus  
\- Gallimimus  
\- Pachycephalosaurus  
\- Brachiosaurus  
\- Pteranodon  
\- Dimorphodon  
\- Quetzalcoatlus  
\- Diabloceratops  
\- Hadrosaurus  
\- Edmontosaurus  
\- Einiosaurus  
\- Camarasaurus  
\- Ceratosaurus  
\- Metriacanthosaurus  
\- Ornitholestes  
\- Diplodocus  
\- Anchisaurus  
\- Parasaurolophus  
\- Microceratus  
\- Elasmosaurus  
\- Opthalmosaurus  
\- Kronosaurus  
\- Mosasaurus  
\- Miragaia  
\- Euoplocephalus _

2\. Please rate the following attractions. Rate them 1 – 5, with one being your most favorite, and 5 being your least favorite.

\- _Tyrannosaurus_ Feeding Show  
\- _Pachycephalosaurus_ Arena  
\- Cretaceous Cruise  
\- _Mosasaurus_ Feeding Show  
\- _Gallimimus_ Valley Safari

3\. Which of the following do you generally like more?

\- Meat eaters  
\- Plant eaters.

4\. Which of the following sounds most appealing to you? Indicate one option only please.

\- Dinosaurs that are really big  
\- Dinosaurs that can fly  
\- Dinosaurs that can swim  
\- Dinosaurs with lots of horns and spikes  
\- Dinosaurs with strange crests  
\- Dinosaurs with large claws and teeth.

5\. Which of the following do you generally like more? Please indicate one option please.

\- Dinosaurs that are scary  
\- Dinosaurs that are beautiful  
\- Dinosaurs that are funny  
\- Dinosaurs that are cute  
\- Dinosaurs that are weird

6\. Do you have a favorite dinosaur that it is not listed above and is not included in the park? If you mark 'yes' please tell us which dinosaur is your favorite.

\- Yes  
\- No

7\. Did you change your mind about which dinosaur you consider your favorite after visiting Jurassic World? If yes, please tell us which dinosaur used to be your favorite, and which one is now your current favorite.

-Yes  
-No

8\. Imagine you had the power to combine two different dinosaurs into one super dinosaur! Which two of the following dinosaurs would you pick to combine?

\- _Tyrannosaurus rex  
\- Triceratops  
\- Stegosaurus  
\- Apatosaurus  
\- Ankylosaurus  
\- Velociraptor_

If you have any additional comments to add regarding potential improvements that you'd like to see made to our list of attractions, please elaborate in the space bellow.

Thank you for completing this visitor survey! Park headquarters will use your answer to determine how best to serve the public in the future. We hope you have enjoyed your stay in Jurassic World, and we hope to see you sometime in the next 65 million years!


	18. Chapter 17 - A New Attraction

The only sound in the dark corridor is the sound of his boots hitting the cold, hard floor. All around him, lines of yellow tape reading 'do not cross' spread from one support beam to the next. Numerous planks and wooden boards line the floor of the open room, with only a white tarp acting as a makeshift ceiling. The smell of dirt carries from the ground, where the old floor had been ripped up. A few pieces of machinery sit lifelessly to the sides of the scene, waiting for their controls to be taken once again.

Rounding the corner to the right of the paused construction, Owen sees a long hallway extend straight forward. The wall on the left is made of glass, and reveals a laboratory gearing up for the coming day. Scientists are settling in, putting on their lab coats, gloves, and goggles as their research picks up where it left off the previous day. At the end of the hall is a lone figure obscured by the shadow on the opposite side. Owen hesitates to shout down to the person, even though he is almost certain of who it is.

Instead, once Owen gets close enough, the figure calls out to him. "Hey Owen!" the voice is deep, and spoken with a thick French accent.

"Hey there, Barry," Owen says, walking right up to Barry and grasping his hand in a strong, firm handshake. "How long you been waiting here?"

"10 minutes, maybe," says the tall, dark, somber-looking man with a faint, tired smile. "Surprised to see you here."

"Is that right?"

"You had some pretty strong convictions the last time we were here."

"Times change, Barry. And so do minds."

"Not without reason, they don't," Barry says.

"Yeah, guess you're right," Owen says. "What can I say? It's a really good park. I was uncomfortable with it at first, but…well, the more I saw of it, the more I realized it was no different, fundamentally from some of the places I'd worked at before. Staff are dedicated, caring, and totally qualified. I wanted to hate this place, but….Masrani was right, damnit. And I'd like to think I'm the kind of man who can admit when he's wrong."

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad to see you here," Barry says.

"Thanks buddy," Owen says. "Now, where this head honcho?"

"Don't know," Barry says, checking his watch, "She's got another five minutes."

"Say, how long did it take you to get here?" Owen asks.

"Not that long," Barry says. "Maybe…..20 minutes, at most?"

"Shit, man!" Owen says. "It took me nearly 45! What route did you take?"

"I took the service roads."

"But which ones?"

"Well, at the first fork, I took a right turn through the Valley which brought me right here."

"Ah fuck!" Owen says, cursing himself. "I took a left! I had to circle all the way around the resort!"

"Why did you take a left? There was a sign that said 'Visitor's Center, right' right there," Barry says with a laugh.

"It's dark, man! Eyes still adjusting."

"Well, now you know," Barry says with a mock reassuring pat on Owen's shoulder.

"Thanks, asshole," Owen says, just as the door to the elevator right next to them opens and a woman steps out. The timing causes Owen to step back in surprise, and it takes all of his self-control in order to keep from proclaiming 'oh shit.'

Owen watches the woman as she steps out into the hallway, looking first from Barry to Owen. She is irrefutably fair, with deep blue eyes, fiery red hair, and pure white clothing from neck to toe. Owen is almost struck by her beauty. "Good morning," she says in a quiet voice, extending a hand toward Barry. "I'm Claire Dearing, park manager. You must be Barry," she says after shaking his hand. Turning to Owen, she continues, "Which would make you, Owen. I got those right, yes?" she asks.

Both men nod and give small vocalizations that confirm her statement.

"Oh good!" she says. "I like to keep things on a more….you know, kinda less formal tone around here, at least when we're on our own, so feel free to call me Claire."

"Alrighty, Claire. Owen works fine by me."

"And Barry is good for me."

"Very good!" Claire says with a smile. "So, uh….well, welcome to your first day on the clock at the world's greatest theme park! Very happy to have both of you gentlemen on board! You both came extremely highly recommended, your resumes both practically glowed when I read them. I can't wait for you to get settled. Did you find everything okay?"

"I….well enough," Owen says, noting a smirk from Barry out of the corner of his eye.

"Great, and how do you guys like it here so far?"

"Well, we only just moved here a couple days ago, so…..well, so far so good," Barry says with a shrug.

"Yeah, looking forward to seeing what a day's work will have in store for us."

"Excellent, good to hear!" Claire says, giving a thumbs up to both of them. "And on that more or less perfect segueway, let's head into the lab and get a look at your four future coworkers!" She leads them into the lab with her badge. She bids good morning to pretty much everyone there, while Owen and Barry give them a polite wave and a smile. She leads them to a corner of the lab, where an office sits protected by its own separating glass walls. A man sits inside, his eyes fixated on his computer screen as he types. Claire taps on the glass and says, "Henry?"

The man looks up, and immediately jumps to his feet and meets them at the door to his office. "Good morning, Claire! I take it these are the two handlers?"

"That's right. Owen Grady, Barry Colbert, this is Dr. Henry Wu, head of Asset Development." Owen twinges a bit at the job title, even as he shakes Wu's hand.

"So, I'm guessing you three are here to see the eggs, right?" Wu asks.

"You got it," Claire says.

"Very good. Right this way," Wu says, leading them across the lab to a door way with a header that reads 'New Assets.' Inside are a dozen circular incubators, many of which hold large eggs inside their glass domes. Wu leads them to one at the far side of the room. It's a smaller incubator, and the eggs inside are long, ovoid, and measuring just 6 inches in length. There are four eggs inside, arranged like the corners of an invisible square. Each egg has a small black QR code on the outside of the shell.

When sees the eggs, he leans over to get a better view inside the incubator. He gives a soft whistle and says, "These our girls?"

"That they are," Wu says. "Or, they will be once they hatch, anyway."

"And when do you think that will be?" Barry says.

"It's hard to say," Wu says. "We've never bred raptors like this before. Or, rather, none with this particular genetic makeup. Incubation period varies for species to species, anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple of months. Their vitals are being remotely monitored at all times, so we'll know when they're about to hatch. Now remember, it is essential that both of you are here when they hatch. Trust begins with imprinting. It'll make interacting with them much easier, even as they grow."

"So what are we going to be doing in the meantime?" Owen asks. "I'm sure Masrani didn't fly us halfway around the world and pay us a hundred grand a year to sit around Margaritaville for two months."

"Not exactly," Claire says. "You're actually going to be involved in construction of the finished raptor pen."

"Whoa, for real?" Owen says, in an excited voice. "Like in designing it?"

"That's right."

"Yes!" Owen says excitedly. "I've always wanted to be involved in the construction of an animal enclosure. I can't tell you how many basic design flaws I've run into out there."

"Oh good, sounds like you guys are going to fit in very nicely here!" Claire says cheerfully. "Now, as far as I'm aware, that actually covers our first day, you guys are officially done for today. The first Timack construction meeting regarding the raptor pen isn't until next week, so you guys are basically free as far as I'm concerned. Just remember to clock out."

"Will do," Owen says. "What's up next on the agenda for you, Claire?"

"Oh, well I actually have a meeting with Dr. Wu and some potential sponsors for a new attraction we're currently developing."

"Oh? What kind of attraction might that be?"

Claire gives him a smile and merely says, "All in good time. Come on, Henry," she says nodding in the opposite direction. Wu follows her out of the room back into the main lab.

Owen's eyes follow Claire as she heads out the door. "I gotta tell ya, Barry," he says, still looking at the door, "That is not what I pictured on the other side of the phone during that first interview."

"What do you mean?" Barry asks.

"I mean," Owen says looking at him, "that I might have a new attraction of my own."

-

"Do you have the memos?" Claire asks Wu as they pass by his office.

"Uh…..yes!" he says, looking inside a manila folder in his right hand.

"Okay, great," she says. "Alright, let's see…..Hal Jordan, Vice President. Jim Drecker, bad hair. Erica Brand, deserves better. Hal, Jim, Erica, Hal, Jim, Erica, Hal, Jim, Erica, Hal, Jim, Erica, and I'm Claire," she finishes with her name as she checks her watch. "Two minutes early, perfect."

Within the space of a few minutes, Zara arrives at the entrance to the lab with three other people. "Your 9'O clock appointment, Claire, the representatives from Verizon Wireless are here."

"Thank you, Zara, I'll take it from here," she says very simply with a nod. Zara returns the nod and leaves Claire and Wu with the three new comers. "So then," she says, turning to face the three of them, "Welcome to Jurassic World!"

"Great to be here!" the tall, balding, chunky Hal says.

"I trust you've all been enjoying you're stay so far?" Claire asks them.

"Very much so," Erica says. "The food in particular is surprisingly good."

"Excellent, glad to hear it," Claire says. "Now, let's get right down to business. If you'll follow me this way, please" she says leading them back into the creation lab. "While year by year revenue continues to climb, operating costs are higher than ever. Our investors have been patient, but the sad fact of the matter is that people just aren't impressed by dinosaurs the way they used to. Back when the park first opened, de-extinction was right up there with magic. These days, kids look at a Stegosaurus like an elephant from the city zoo. That's not to say that asset development has fallen behind, as you can plainly see," she says, gesturing to the dozens of scientists going about their business. "Our paleo-geneticists continue to recreate new species every day. But consumers want them bigger. Louder. More teeth.

"So when you say you want to sponsor an attraction here at Jurassic World, what sort of attraction do you have in mind?" Claire asks them.

They look at each other briefly, after which Hall says, "We want to be thrilled."

"Don't we all," Claire says with a twinkle in her eye. Stepping toward a touch screen, she swipes to the right, pulling in a digital DNA strand. "Lady and gentleman, say hello to our first genetically hybridized dinosaur, code name: Bad Boy."

"A hybrid?" Jim asks. "Wait, how did you get two different kinds of dinosaur to…" and he finishes his question with a gesture of his hands.

Wu steps in with the answer. "Oh this asset won't be bred traditionally. She's been designed by committee." He steps forward toward the same touch screen and swipes right, switching out the DNA strand for an image of a dinosaur on screen.

The image causes the three potential investors to go wide eyed.

"She will be nearly 80 feet from nose to tail when fully grown," Wu continues. "That's nearly twice as large as the _T. rex_."

"Holy shit!" Jim says.

Smiling confidently, Claire continues, "Every time we unveil a new asset, attendance spikes. Celebrity visitors. Global news coverage. Eyes of the world."

"When will she be ready?" Hal asks enthusiastically.

"Well now, that's where you come in," Claire says. "Once we get proper sponsorship, we can begin the creation process. If we started, say, next week, she would be full grown by 2015."

"And that's really what it would look like?" Erica asks.

"We guarantee it," Claire says with a reassuring smile.


	19. Chapter 18 - Happy Birthday

_Four golden eagles, spread out in a line. Wood-chips under their feet. Clicking bills. Merciless eyes._

" _Hold."_

 _The eagles do not acknowledge the command. Heads turn to and fro, up and down. Wings unfold, and they take off, away from him._

" _Come back!" He screams. He chases them. He comes to a wall that reads employees only._

" _I wish I was an employee, but I only work here!" he cries out in frustration._

 _The eagles fly over the wall, and he can't see them anymore._

 _A roar from behind. Passing shadow swallows the sun. Wings spread for miles. A shape soars over the wall, bellowing huge streams of flame down from above._

 _Fire._

 _Everywhere_

Owen opens his eyes with a sudden jolt of his body. Head still against the pillow, he feels a pool of saliva all around his chin, and cold sweat trickling down his brow. It takes a moment to register the pounding of his frantic heart. The dream, so vivid before, is fading, being pushed out by something else. Something here. Something now.

"Wha-?" he murmurs to himself before noticing the small glowing light by his bedside. The vibrating of the plastic phone case against the wooden end table is accompanied by a generic ring tone on the highest setting. He can't read who the call is coming from because he can't bring himself to look directly into the light from the screen. Squinting in the other direction, he fumbles for a bit before wrapping his fingers around it and pressing a button in the corner.

"Owen," he says in a groggy voice.

"Owen! It's Henry. The eggs are hatching!"

"SHIT!" Owen says nearly dropping the phone. "I'm on my way!" he calls into the phone. Suddenly at full attention, he looks down at the screen. 3:28 AM. He looks down and sees a sweat-drenched tank top and blue boxers. Coming to the conclusion that no one would see him at this hour anyway, he slips on a pair of sneakers (no socks), and quickly grabs the keys by the door.

Dashing out the door to his private bungalow, Owen hops on board his motorcycle. Before revving up the engines, he slaps himself a few times in the face, shaking his head vigorously, saying, "Okay, buddy. Okay, okay, okay. You're gonna do this. You're gonna be driving soon, so gotta be fully awake, alright?" Silently agreeing with himself, he strengthens his grip on the gas, and the bike lurches forward onto the dirt service road toward the Innovation Center.

Driving far more recklessly than he was willing to admit to himself, Owen rounds corners with clouds of dust, and makes it to the Innovation Center in record time. He doesn't bother parking the bike – he just drives right up to the front doors. He doesn't park the bike either, and lets it fall onto its side as he bounds up the steps three at a time. He's relieved that the doors are open, obviously in anticipation of his and Barry's arrival. Darting through the new suite of interactive exhibits, he races down the hall toward the Creation Lab. Wu is waiting by the door for him. "Owen!" he calls out.

"Henry, yeah…good morning," he says, panting heavily as he comes to a stop for the first time in nearly 20 minutes.

Wu looks down at Owen's attire, or rather the lack of it. "So," he says in a slightly awkward voice, "Uh…..well, you're here"

The moment is broken when Barry, who had the decency to throw on a bath robe, comes bolting down the hall to meet them. "Fuck man," he pants. "I could have sworn I would beat you!"

"Nevermind," Owen says, his breath finally catching up to him. "Let's go!" he says, leading the three of them into the lab. He makes a bee-line straight for the room where he knows the eggs are. The incubator is alight with a bright red glow from the top, and the monitors displaying all of their vital signs are bustling with activity. "Okay," Owen says to Wu. "What do we do?"

"First step is decontamination," Wu says gesturing to a small shower station built into the side of the room.

"Oh…" Owen says. "Do you, uh…do you want us to take our clothes off?"

"Please don't," Wu says.

Without thinking, Owen steps into the small alcove in the wall that makes up the shower. From the outside, Wu pulls a lever, and an instantaneous spray of cold water blasts froth from the nozzle.

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" Owen calls out as the water brazes his exposed skin. After about thirty seconds, the spray stops, and a shivering Owen steps out of the shower. Wu hands him a towel, and Owen takes it. "Ssshhhhit m-m-man! Give a g-g-guy a warning next t-t-t-time!" he snaps at Wu, very delicately dapping off the water from his raw skin.

Wu ignores him. "Next," he says, looking at Barry.

Barry takes a deep breath as he steps into Owen's place in the shower. The process repeats itself, albeit with French swears instead of English ones. Once dry, Wu hands them both a set of scrubs and plastic gloves to put on. Fully adorned, Owen asks, "Okay, what next?"

"Now, we wait," Wu says. "According to our monitoring systems, they should be hatching in a few minutes. Now, I need you two to keep an eye on the eggs, and when you see the first crack, let me know. I'll leave the room to prevent the chicks from imprinting on me."

"Right, okay," Owen says. He and Barry walk back over to the incubator. Wu goes to the opposite side of the structure and presses a button. A sharp hissing sound escapes the dome as the glass separates from the platform, and rises slowly from a hinge on one side.

"The individuals will be named according to the military alphabet," Wu says. "You two represent the Alpha of this relationship. As such, the first one to be hatched will be called Bravo, the second will be called Charlie, the third Delta, and the fourth Echo."

Owen leans in, to get a closer look at one of the eggs. He can see it rocking very slightly back and forth in place. A jolt of energy shoots out from Owen's heart to every corner of his body. _This is it!_

More minutes pass by, ticking by at a snail's pace. But it does nothing to damper the anticipation of both Barry and Owen, who lean forward, unmoving with big goofy smiles on both of their faces. But something catches Owen's attention out of the corner of his eye. On the other side of the room, there's another incubator, one that hadn't been there when he first saw the eggs with Claire. The incubator houses two eggs, each one about the size of large grapefruit. "What are those?" Owen asks.

Wu looks over at the pair of large eggs and says, "Uh….that's classified for now."

Owen's suspicions are distracted by a sudden, sharp cracking noise rings out through the room. "Over here! This one!" Owen says in a soft though excited voice. Wu heads out the door, but Barry comes right up to Owen's right hand side, trying to get as good a look as possible for the impending event. Another crack streaks its way down the milky white, ovoid shell. Then another. Three more. The gaps between fragments of shell begin to widen. At first, they see nothing but darkness. But as the gaps grow even wider, they make out a squirming shape pushing against the surrounding egg shell.

"That's it…..that's it, come on!" Owen whispers to the little chick. Within a few minutes, they start to hear a delicate squeaking noise coming from within. A single, elegant little clawed finger pokes its way through the cracks, followed soon by two more. It grasps at empty air before recoiling back inside to grab the shells around it. Red fluid drips out down the side of the egg as the little arms struggle against the shell surrounding them. At the top of the egg, the end of a small, pointed snout pokes through feebly.

Anxious to help the tiny creature in its exhaustive endeavor, Owen reaches out and begins to gently finger at the cracks, trying to break off pieces of shell. After several minutes, the whole upper portion of the egg breaks away, revealing a chick that could fit comfortably in Owen's hand. Still covered in viscous fluids, the chick sits upright, its tail curling around it. Layers of wet, downy feathers cover the chick from its face, all the way down to the tip of its tail. Its arms look like chicken wings, save for the total of three clawed fingers on each hand, with only the faintest trace of the wing feathers to be seen. The creature is a pale, bluish grey color, with a pair of deep blue stripes running parallel down its back.

It looks from Owen, and then to Barry, and then back to Owen with its wide, slit-pupiled yellow eyes. It opens its mouth and lets out a soft squeaking nose. Owen reaches out with his index finger and rubs the chick at the base of its jaw, under its chin. The chick seems to lean into the affectionate touch.

"So. This is Bravo?" Barry asks.

"Bravo?" Owen says, forgetting the names for a moment. "Oh, oh, right, right….right," he says vacantly looking at the pair of blue stripes running down her back. "Actually, you know what, fuck that. I'm gonna name her Blue."

"Blue?"

"Yeah, Blue, see?" Owen says, pointing to the stripes. "Little baby Blue," he croons softly to the small dinosaur.

"You think Wu will allow that?" Barry asks.

"No," Owen says, "But I don't care. He's not going to work with them. He's not gonna be there as they grow up. Let her be Bravo on paper. To us, she'll be Blue. What do you say?"

Barry smiles. "I say, Hell yeah."

Another crack from their left alerts their attention to the next egg to hatch. The process was largely the same, save for the fact that the first thing they saw from Charlie (Owen and Barry decided not to push the naming convention too far) was her right foot, complete with the enlarge claw on the second toe of the foot (though it was far from as large and curving as it will one day be). Charlie is followed by Delta, directly across from her, and to the right of Blue. And lastly, Echo, across from Blue. Charlie is a pale green, with dark green stripes running vertically down her back. Delta is a monotone, dull gray-turquoise. And Echo is a light sandy brown with blue stripes running vertically down her back.

Owen and Barry make sure to spend a decent amount of time in front of each chick, letting them see their faces. When Owen and Barry walk away from the chicks, they let out a loud squealing distress call and flap their arms frantically until the two men decide to get close again.

Owen picks up Blue and cradles her in his rugged hands. He keeps her upright, knowing how few animals like to be held on their backs. He brings her close to his chest, and holds her close to his heart. He places a single finger against her chest, and through the drying feathers, he feels the tiny pounding of her excited little heart. "Hey there, little Blue!" Owen says in a creaking voice as warm tears start to well up in his eyes. Knees growing weak, he gently sits down on the cold laboratory floor, and cradles Blue in his hands, rocking her back and forth and laughing as she nibbles his thumb with her tiny little needle teeth. He's surprised by how sharp they are already.

3 MONTHS LATER

A light mist drifts between the numerous palm fronds. Heavy, humid air condenses on the glass walls and ceiling. Radiant sunlight shines through into the green house, filtered through the translucent leaves, casting a green hue throughout the entire room. The dirt floor is dotted with small tracks with two toes. From one corner of the room to the other, the calls of animals echo off the walls. A rustle of the low lying ferns signals the passing by of dark shapes that do not stay exposed long enough to be identified.

A hissing sound rings out from the door on the side as Zara steps inside the greenhouse. She immediately wrinkles her nose and lets out a soft grunt, fanning herself with the manila folder in her left hand. "Owen?" she calls out. When no one answers, she tries again. "Barry?" Still nothing, and she rolls her eyes again. "Anyone?" she says in a quiet, irritated voice.

Suddenly, something leaps out of the grove of ferns to her right, landing with a soft thud in front of her. She jumps back two feet and curses. "Holy shit!" she says, looking at the small creature standing about 4 feet in front of her. Only about two feet tall at full height, it stares up at her with a pair of wide, yellow eyes, viper-like slits for pupils. A fine, thick coat of feathers extends smoothly from around the face, down all along the body and all the way down to the tip of its tail, where a colorful, brilliant blue fan of tail feathers extends outwards from the sides. Its wings are half folded at its side, revealing the clawed, three-fingered hands. The wing feathers grow out of the second finger, leaving the first one free of the wing. The only bits not covered in feathers are the very tip of the snout, baring naked skin, and the feet, which are textured with small, pebbly scales around the ankles, and flat, plate-like reticulae on the tops of the toes. The second toe of each foot carries a curving, sickle-shape claw, larger than the others and held off the ground as it stands. The whole animal is a dull bluish gray, with a pair of bright blue stripes running down her back.

"Damn it, Blue!" she says, cursing the small dinosaur as it stares cock-eyed up at her. It doesn't make any sounds, though it does gently scratch the ground under its feet.

"Hold it!" Owen's voice comes calling through the foliage. "Hold it, hold it right there young lady," he says, stumbling right behind the small Dromaeosaur. When it sees him, it bobs its head up and down and steps toward Zara. "Sorry about that Zara," Owen says. "She's been having trouble all morning."

Blue turns her attention away from both mammals, and begins digging through the dirt with her snout. "Blue," Owen says, but she ignores him. "Blue," he says again in a slightly sterner voice, but still she ignores him. "Blue!" he says in a forceful voice, which finally causes Blue to look up at him. When she does, he holds up a small device that lets out a loud 'click' and tosses a small, pink fetal mouse at her. With a lightning like reflex of her neck, she catches the pinky and swallows it whole. "They're getting better with name recognition," he says pridefullly to Zara. "Though Echo's still a little slow on the uptake."

"Oh, very nice," Zara says half-heartedly, trying not to think about the pinky mouse that the little raptor just swallowed. "Do you have your report for the week?"

"Oh, Barry does. Yo, Barry!" Owen calls out.

A loud voice answers in reply, "Yeah?"

"You got the report?"

There's a delay before the answer comes back. "Just a minute."

A few minutes pass, and Blue suddenly jerks her head up at full attention. Looking to her left, she lets out a harsh hiss and ruffles her feathers. Spreading her wings out in front of her, she shows off the claws on her hands, and she clacks her sickle claw on the ground.

Her actions anticipate the arrival of Echo and Delta, who answer her display with two of their own. Delta flanks Blue on her right, and Echo goes right up to her face. The two adversaries let out vicious, hate-filled snarls and shrieks at each other. Distracted by Echo, Blue doesn't notice when Delta lunges forward and snaps at her right leg. Blue flinches and tries to kick Delta in the face, but she's already well out of range of the attack by the time Blue's foot touches down.

"HEY!" Owen yells at the three of them, sweeping Echo away from Blue with his foot. "Knock it off!" Without another sound, Echo and Delta scramble off back into the bush. Owen kneels down and whistles to Blue. "Here, girl. Come here, Blue."

At the sound of her name, Blue turns around and trots toward him. Owen holds out his hand, and she sniffs it tentatively before placing her snout in the palm. "At a girl," Owen says, extending his other hand to reveal three pinkies that she eagerly laps up. He runs his fingers through the ruffled feathers on her neck, and she purrs softly at the touch. Standing back up, Owen says, "Alright, now get," and he waves her off. She walks at a brisk pace back into the surrounding under brush.

Owen lets out a small sigh. "Poor kid," he says. "She's the runt of the litter, even though she hatched first. Echo's been looking pretty dominant the last few weeks, and she's been particularly interested in harassing Blue."

At that moment, Barry strolls up a dirt path toward them, carrying seven pieces of paper. "Sorry about the wait," he says, "I was in the middle of giving Charlie her antibiotics."

"How are the sores looking?" Owen asks.

"Better," Barry says, nodding. "I'd give it another week, maybe a little more?"

"Sweet," Owen says.

"And here are those reports," Barry says, handing the pieces of paper to Zara.

Zara sticks them at the very back of the folder, which is labeled 'May.' "Thank you," she says to Barry. "A couple of things before I leave. First off, Claire wants to know how much longer you plan on keeping them in the nursery."

"Uh…" Owen says, caught off guard by the question. "Hmm, what do you think, buddy?" he says to Barry.

"I'm not sure exactly," Barry says. "Dr. Grant's book says that raptors are lethal at 8 months. At the rate they're growing now, I can believe that."

"Alright, alright….hmmm…another two months then? How's that sound?" Owen asks.

"Sounds good to me," Barry says, nodding.

"Okay then, yeah, just tell Claire to give us another two months in here."

"Alright. And lastly," she says, turning to Owen. "Claire has something she'd like to talk to you about." Zara pauses, as if something is caught at the back of her throat. "She was wondering if you'd like to discuss it over dinner, tonight."

Both Owen's and Barry's eyebrows shoot upward at that mention. "Uh…uh…..I, well that's…..yeah, yeah I should be able to do that. Not as if I've got anything else going on tonight."

"8 O'clock, Winston's work alright for you?" Zara asks.

"Sure, no problem at all," Owen says with a shrug.

A ferocious snarling sounds off from the opposite side of the greenhouse. "Uh oh," Barry says. "Sounds like Echo and Delta are at it again. I'll take care of it."

"Get the spray bottle," Owen says as Barry hustles over to the equipment shed. "Kids," Owen says with both a groan and a smile. As he looks back at Zara, he notices that she's looking uncomfortably down at the ground. "You alright?"

Looking up at him, Zara says in a feeble, unconvincing voice, "Sure, I'm alright."

Owen tilts his head in a skeptical manner and says, " Zara. You're talking to an animal trainer. If there's one thing I know, it's body language."

Zara lets out a small laugh, but it comes attached to a sob. "It's…..it's a long story."

"Okay. You know, Zara, I know we're not exactly the closest of co-workers, but if you really feel you need someone to talk to, then I promise you that I'll listen, and I won't judge no matter what you tell me….unless you've, like, killed a man, in which case you're a terrible person."

Zara laughs more, her voice shaking as a few tears begin to glisten in her eyes. She stands there silent for nearly a minute, looking at Owen up and down, examining him. Eventually, she takes a step toward him and says in a soft voice, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Absolutely."

She bites her lip before saying, "Claire and I….we used to be…..involved."

Owen waits to see if she continues. When she doesn't, he says, "Involved…in….?" She gives him a look that answers the question immediately. "OH! Oh oh oh, oh-kay, okay, well that's…..can't say I saw that coming. How long ago?"

"We broke it off about 9 months ago," Zara says. "But we'd been together for six years before that."

"Shoot," Owen says. "That's a pretty major commitment….what made you break it off?"

"That's where things get complicated," Zara says. "Basically, I wanted to make the relationship official to corporate and to the world in general, but Claire was worried that it might jeopardize her position as park manager. She said it would look very 'unprofessional.'"

"Aww, Zara, I'm sorry to hear about that," Owen says. "Jeez, I don't know how you can even stand to keep working for her."

"Yeah, that makes two of us," Zara says. "I don't know…maybe, I'm hoping that one day Claire will change her mind, and we can be together again."

"I don't know, Zara," Owen says, shrugging. "Personally, I never bank on things changing in the future if it means misery in the present."

"You're probably right," Zara says. "But we'll see. But when Claire told me to ask you to dinner with her, it brought up all kinds of thoughts and memories and…."

"Whoa, whoa, you don't think that Claire's interested in me….do you?" Owen asks.

"I think it's possible," Zara says.

"But…..But I'm not…" and Own gestures to his body.

Zara rolls her eyes. "Ugh, you know, bisexual is a thing."

"Oh right, sorry," Owen says. "Didn't mean to assume. I hate assuming. It leads to assumptions."

"Don't worry about it," she says with a wave of her hand. "Don't suppose it matters though, yeah? What'll happen will happen, I suppose."

"True," Owen says. "But that doesn't mean you have to stand for it. I've learned a lot of things in my life, Zara, and one of the most important things I learned is that we're really not in control of a whole lot in this world. One of the most precious exceptions to that is our own happiness."

"Yeah, well…" she says, with a careless shrug, "Like I said, we'll see what happens….and how much of I'll be able to put up with it."

"Alright….well, you take care now Zara," Owen says.

"Thanks Owen….so, I'll tell Claire that you're all set for tonight?"

"Sure, go ahead," Owen says, with just the slightest hint of guilt in his voice.

It isn't long before the day is past, and Owen is standing in his bedroom, surveying his existing wardrobe in search of suitable attire for his evening with the boss. He hadn't brought much in the way of formal wear to the island when he moved to the island. The more he looks at his clothing, the more he realizes that his work clothes are actually the most formal articles of clothing he has on Nublar. But the idea of dressing as part-time pooper-scooper for his date with his boss does not sound like the best idea.

As Owen mulls over his potential outfit, her can't help but recall his conversation with Zara from earlier. A slight pang slides through his heart as he remembers how cut up she seemed by the apparent cold break up with Claire. How much would it hurt if it turned out that Claire did want to start seeing Owen on the side? The thought makes him grind his teeth.

Suddenly losing the urge to appear attractive and impressive before Claire, Owen whispers, "Fuck it," and grabs a pair of board shirts and a Death Leopard T-shirt before heading to the bathroom to apply a liberal amount of deodorant, check to make sure his hair isn't so unwieldy that insects would get trapped in it, and cleaning his fingernails.

Owen only teases the gas as he pilots his motorcycle along the service roads around the Innovation Center. He takes an inordinate amount of time to listen to the light chorus of birds at twilight, starting to mingle with the calls of frogs and the chirping of insects. The light breeze caressing his face as he progresses is gentle, like the reassuring touch of an old friend. He even whistles a familiar tune, unknowingly using it as a countdown to his arrival.

Parking his motorcycle at the gate to the public spaces on the other side, Owen makes his way onto Main St. Even two hours from closing, the park is relatively busy, even with young children begging their parents for a frozen yogurt or a plush Tyrannosaur from Jurassic Traders. Right across from the Innovation Center is Winston's Steak House. Approaching the maitre'd, he says, "Hey there. Name's Owen, I'm here to meet Claire Dearing?"

Upon hearing Claire's name, the maitre'd looks up and says, "Ah, okay, yes. Right this way," and he grabs a menu before leading Owen into the dining area. Owen sees her long before they approach the table, sitting by herself with only one other place set up across from her. A pair of candles sits beside a tall, thin glass vase containing a single blood-red rose. Claire sits straight up, gazing intently into the surrounding throngs as she casually sips on a Bacardi and coke. Dressed in a spectacularly elegant white dress, Owen feels so underdressed he feels like seizing something to hide his crotch with. "The other member of your party, Ms. Dearing," the maitre'd says, motioning to the chair for Owen to take his seat.

"Oh good," Claire says, checking her watch. "Thank you."

Owen sits down awkwardly and says, "Uh…good evening, Claire."

"Good evening, Owen," she says with a smile. "I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten our dinner tonight."

"Oh well, you know….it's only 10 minutes off," Owen says with a weak smile.

"Ah, ah, ah," Claire says, playfully wagging a disapproving parental finger. "Punctuality is the start of everything in business."

Not feeling qualified to talk 'business' Owen resides himself to saying, "If you say so."

A server stops by the table, setting down a plate of stuffed mushrooms. "Here you are, ma'am."

"Oh thank you," Claire says, readying a small plate. "Sorry, I was getting hungry," she says. "Feel free to have some if you want."

"Thanks, but I'm actually allergic to mushrooms," Owen says, already loving where the date is going. "Nothing serious, just a little rash is all."

"Oh sorry!" Claire says, blushing slightly. "I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

"Eh, not big deal really," Owen says, trying to manage a weak laugh. "But since you're here," he says, turning to the server, "mind if I get an order of Chilean Sea Bass? Everyone on the island raves about it."

"Very good sir," the server says. "And you, Ms. Dearing?"

"Scallops, if you please."

"Very good. I'll put both of those in for you," the server says before leaving with their menus in hand.

Once the server's gone, Owen clears his throat and says, "So, Claire….to what do I owe the pleasure of your dinner company?"

"I wanted to congratulate you," Claire says, holding up her drink to him. "Three months, and our four lovely ladies are doing very well. Better than our best projections as a matter of fact."

Owen nods, accepting the compliment, and says, "That's very kind of you Claire. Though, if it's not too bold to point out, I think Barry's just as deserving of congratulations as little old me."

She lowers her gaze even as she keeps her eyes on him, and smiles. "Well….I suppose I do have another reason for wanting to speak with you," she says.

"And kind of reason might that be?"

"Well….two of them, if I'm being perfectly honest," She says, leaning in and quieting her voice. "Firstly….we have an attraction."

"We…..we-we do?" Owen asks.

"Oh very much so. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"It's, uh….it's news to me."

"Oh yes….a brand new attraction unlike anything anyone's ever seen before," she says.

"I…..wait a minute, are you talking about the dinosaurs?" Owen says, suddenly feeling very foolish.

Claire starts laughing. "Of course, you big doof! What did you think I was talking about?"

"That's, uh…that-that's, what's this new attraction?" Owen says, trying to force the conversation another way.

Claire concedes, leaning back slightly in her chair. "A new species we've created."

"Okay, what's the species?" Owen asks.

"A brand new one," Claire says simply.

"Right, okay, which one though?" Owen asks again.

"Owen," she says, "When I say brand new, I mean brand new."

"Wait…you mean a dinosaur no one's ever heard of before?" Owen asks, getting slightly more interested.

"Yes," Claire says, "But it's more than that. This is a dinosaur that doesn't exist, and never existed at any point, in nature."

Owen wrinkles his forehead as he starts to realize. "Wait, you mean…..you mean you created an entirely new dinosaur….from scratch?"

"Well, not scratch," Claire says with a side glance. "Wu's good, but he's not that good. I'm talking about a hybrid."

"A hybrid dinosaur…." Owen says, anticipating more from her. "…for what?"

"For an attraction," Claire says, as if this was self-evident.

The thought hits Owen like a brick to the face. "Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute, hang on a sec…are you telling me that you created a genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur…..just to show it off in the park?"

"Well, yeah," Claire says, slightly confused.

Owen stares at her for nearly a minute, mouth agape as he struggles to pick out the first thing to say out of his many thoughts. "I…..I…why?" is the first one that manages to escape his mouth.

"Well," Claire says, prefacing a long story, "It's a bit complicated. Basically, the board of directors is very eager to see more spikes in visitor attendance to address rising costs of operation. We've exhausted all of the most lucrative species from the fossil record. So we did a little research to find out just what visitors want most out of their Jurassic World experience, and we created a dinosaur that best meets their expectations….is there something wrong?"

Owen has gone from simply confused to downright dumbfounded. From his face, one would think that Claire had just urinated on a sacred relic. "Oh, now she asks!" he says. "Let me start off by saying that, if I knew that you guys were planning something like this, then I would have had some very serious second thoughts about coming to work here, but that's beside the point. Just…..just, how far gone are you that you would just…just, create something like that….for sheer entertainment value? Did anyone stop to consider just what kind of animal you'd be bringing into the world? This isn't a machine, this isn't a toy, this is a creature that reacts to, and interacts with, the world around it. It's alive! It's not just a data-point or a statistic!"

"Owen, calm down!" Claire says, gesturing downward with her hands. "You are completely overreacting!"

"Overreacting?! What, just because I'm apparently the only person who sees how fucked up this is?!" Owen says, clenching the sides of the table in two firm grips, a single vein pulsing in his neck.

"That's enough!" Claire says in a forceful tone, drowning the intensity of his stare with her deep blue eyes.

Owen says nothing, his chest heaving up and down with each haggard breath. After a few moments, he brings himself to let go of the table, and sits back down in his chair. "I'm sorry," he says, his voice cracking on the third word.

"Okay," Claire says, "Obviously, you have some objections to this new attraction. I like to think I'm an involved supervisor. So – calmly and quietly – please tell me why the idea of a hybrid upsets you."

Owen takes in a deep breath, taking a moment to choose his words very carefully. "Okay," he begins, "I am not comfortable with the idea of animals being created simply for the purposes of entertainment. Animals deserve to live comfortable, happy, satisfying lives, whatever that may actually mean for them."

"Why does the hybrid asset upset you more than our traditional ones?"

"Because, although they too are created for the ultimate goal of making a profit, at least a lot of careful work and research has been done to give these animals quality lives that they can enjoy. Also, one of the things I love about this place is how it goes _against_ what people expect to see. People do not expect to see dinosaurs covered in feathers, or with weird crests or frills or horns or whatever. It totally _shatters_ what they expect out of their dinosaurs, and they learn something from the experience. It actually teaches them something about the natural world, and there is some kind of personal growth, however small it may be. Creating a living being just to cater to base expectations doesn't show anybody anything new. It…it just reeks of a lack of foresight."

"Owen, believe me, we have planned for everything. Designing the species beforehand gives us the chance to specifically design its enclosure to meet its unique needs. It means no unexpected surprises, we'll know exactly what we're getting beforehand. I promise it will have just as good a life as any animal in this park."

Owen looks away, scowling at the floor. When he looks back at her he says, "It still stands in complete opposition of what I love about Jurassic World, and why I came to work here in the first place. When you first contacted me about coming to work here, I said no because I believed that this was just a typical for-profit animal park that cared more about profits than the animals, where stupid tourists would come to gawk at the dinosaurs before going back to the resort to play golf or lounge in the lazy river. But that's not what I saw when I came here. Despite my cynicism, I saw a place where amazing creatures unlike anything anyone's ever seen before in the history of the human race roamed free, where people would flock from all over the world to look in pure awe and wonder at these animals. I mean….seriously, I cried when I saw my first dinosaur here. It isn't just a tourist trap, it's a standing testament to how much we love the animal world. But if you just throw all of that out and start making fake monster dinosaurs, then you defeat that whole purpose, and this place becomes nothing more than a 5 star luxury sideshow."

"Well…" Claire says, with a tinge of guilt in her voice, "I can't honestly say that I'm proud of the decision, but there's nothing I can do about it. Whatever this park is for you, or for the guests, it is first and foremost a business. And it is literally my job to make sure this business continues to grow and excel. The Masrani Board of Directors has been breathing down my neck for the past 4 years trying to get me to create more and more lucrative attractions, and I…well, I ran out of options. We've already bred all of the most profitable dinosaurs known from the fossil record."

Owen gets a look on his face as if he just tasted something foul. "Just once I wish people would put the animals before the money."

"Without that money, there is no park," Claire says absolutely. "The money we make here goes back into the tons upon tons of food and water these animals go through every week. It goes back into medical care, enrichment, and – of course – behavioral research," she says, nodding to him. "That's just the world we live in. If you hate capitalism, that's fine with me, but don't blame me for the existing system."

Owen begrudgingly nods and says, "Fair point."

"Look, if it really makes you that uncomfortable, you are always free to leave," Claire reminds him. "You're not under contract to anyone."

"Oh I can't leave now," Owen says, "Not after all we've been through. They just started to learn their names. And I can't leave Blue now, not with Echo harassing her all the time."

Claire smiles and says, "So you're gonna stay with us?"

Owen rolls his eyes. "At least until they hit puberty." Once the joke is over, Owen thinks of something. "Wait a minute. Why would you tell me about your knew hybrid freak dinosaur? What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, I was going to get to that," she says with a playful look.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be interested in observing the asset as it develops. It would be very useful to have an expert in animal behavior around to watch out for any warning signs. It wouldn't be a full time thing. Probably not even a couple hours a week. But, I'm guessing that would not be something that would interest you…?"

"Whoa no, hang on, not so fast," Owen says putting out a hand. "I'd actually be very interested." Looking at her confused face, he says, "I totally 100% do not believe that you should create an animal like that…..having said that, if you're going to create it anyway, regardless of what I think, then you should probably have at least one person with common sense looking after it."

"Oh well….., that-that's good!" Claire says, taking the back-handed compliment.

"Yeah well," and he shrugs. "What's this thing called?"

"First off, there's two of them," Claire says.

"Twins, huh?" Owen says, nodding slightly. "Okay. Okay, fair enough, not a bad idea. Always helps to have a friend."

"And the marketing team hasn't settled on a name yet, however the tentative name for the moment is the _Diabolus rex_."

Owen stares blankly at her. "That…..seriously?"

Shooting him a look, Claire responds, "We need something that is both simultaneously scary, but also easy to pronounce. Ever hear a four-year-old try to say _Archaeornithomimus_?"

"Every hear you try to say it?" he says with a smile.

"Hilarious," she says in a dull tone.

"Okay…..okay, fine, I'm in. I'll look after your mutant freak for you," Owen says.

"Excellent, thank you," Claire says, bowing her head.

"And, uh….what was that second thing you wanted to talk about?"

Claire looks at him slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"You said there were two things you wanted to discuss. _Diablosaurus rex_ was one, but what's the other?"

Suddenly realizing, Claire looks away from Owen's eyes and says, "Ooohhh, uh….I was actually wondering if you wanted to go back to my place."

"Ooohhhhhh," Owen says in a quiet, realizing voice. "I see…hmmm…." He spends nearly a minute looking deeply at Claire, fixating on her blue eyes. "Look…" he begins, "I….I think you're a very smart person, and I know you're very good at what you do. But, I don't really think we're right for each other."

Closing her eyes briefly, Claire says, "I see. Oh well, can't blame a woman for trying."

"Certainly not," Owen says, nodding.

"In that, case I have no more to say. How about you?" she asks him.

"Um…..no, no I think I'm good," he says, checking his watch. "Yikes, I better head back. Getting close to bed time."

"Bed time? It's not even 9:30," Claire says.

"Early to bed, early to rise," Owen says. He gets to his feet, taking a box full of leftover Chilean Sea Bass which he had barely touched. "When are the monster twins due to hatch?"

"Won't be for a couple weeks according to Dr. Wu," Claire says getting to her feet. "Oh, and one last thing," she says as he heads toward the exit. "Please wear pants this time."


	20. Chapter 19 - Unhappy Birthday

Waves crash and break upon the jagged rocks rising out of the sea. High on the cliffs above, tall palm trees drift lazily in a warm summer breeze. Blue, cloudless skies hang over a small clearing in the trees, the ground littered with the remains of dead leaves and ferns covering the hard, stony ground. The noon day sun shines brilliantly on the scene below. To the West, the forest stretches for miles, green mountains rising ominously out of the horizon like backs of huge sea serpents.

Along a dirt road winding toward the Eastern mountains, a large truck plows down through a cloud of dust, followed by a caravan of jeeps. In the back of the truck is a large cargo hold, big enough to hold one of the jeeps following it with room to spare. The truck comes to a stop in front of a tall structure shaped like a figure eight, walls reinforced with steel and concrete. Iron bars line some of the walls, giving a view inside. Groves of ferns, cycads, and lush conifer trees sprout from the ground inside. The walls, over 20 feet tall all around, are topped with wide walkways complete with railings along both edges.

The truck slows as it approaches the paddock, rounding its way toward the North end. Angling itself into position, it then backs up at a crawling pace toward a wide gateway. It only stops when it is just a few feet away from the wall of the pen. Coming to a complete stop, the driver's side door swings open and Owen hops out onto the dusty road. Barry follows out of the passenger's side. As Owen strolls along the side of the truck toward the back, he bangs on the side of the cargo hold. "Rise and shine, ladies!" he calls out.

Jeeps park themselves next to the truck on either side. Dozens of black-clad soldiers rush out and surround the truck, pointing their specialized tazer guns at the sealed door to the cargo. Each one is wearing a cap with the letters 'ACU' knitted with white string into the fabric.

Reaching for his belt, Owen picks up a key chain carrying no less than 20 different keys. He uses 5 of them on the 5 distinct padlocks that seal the main entrance into the enclosure from the outside. Pulling to his right, he slides the door open. The threshold is about 10 feet long in total. "Alright, Barry, you're all set."

Barry nods as he pulls out an incline at the base of the cargo hold, which extends down to the very edge of the gate way. Both Owen and Barry step up the incline and grab onto a pair of handles at the bottom of the hold. With one heave, the back of the cargo hold slides upwards, revealing a mostly empty space. The only things inside are four rectangular metal crates, each one about 5 feet by 10 feet, each one punctured by several holes.

Owen looks at Barry and says, "Care to do the honors?"

Barry smirks before going up to one of the crates and knocking on it 3 times. A vicious snarling sound rings out from the air holes, and the whole crate violently shakes with the force of something inside lunging itself against the wall. "Well, they're awake. And they don't sound too happy."

"So what else is new?" Owen says, stepping inside and going to the opposite side of the same crate. "Ready?" Owen asks, to which Barry nods. "Okay, on 3. 1. 2. 3." Both men push the crate toward the open gateway into the paddock. They fight against gravity to keep it from crashing down, and allow it to slide smoothly onto the ground. "Okay, and lift!" Owen grunts as both of them heave the crate off the ground. Loud bangs from inside shake the crate as it rocks back and forth in their hands. It's not until they are well inside the paddock that they gently set down the crate.

After repeating the process three times for the rest of the crates, Owen slides the gate back into place, and secures all 5 padlocks. He vigorously shakes each lock 4 times to make sure they're secure.

"Owen!"

Owen looks up and sees Barry walking along the catwalk along the edge of the paddock wall above him. "How's it looking?" Owen asks him.

"So far, so good. Ready to release?""

"Whoa, hold up, wait for me!" Owen says, climbing the stairs on the side of the gateway. Rushing up to meet Barry, Owen stands with his partner on a catwalk overlooking the enclosure, the four crates rocking back and forth slowly. "You got the key?"

Nodding, Barry holds up a small remote control.

"Hey, hey! Not so fast!" a voice calls down from below them. Turning around, they see the soldiers approaching the ladder, led by a stout Japanese man. "You think we're here for the view?"

"Sorry, Hamada," Owen says very unapologetically. "Guess I just got caught up in the moment." The ACU soldiers spread out across the catwalk, aiming their tazer guns at the four crates. Once they're all in position, Owen says, "Alright, is everybody ready?" Hamada nods. "Okay then, back to business," Owen says, nodding to Barry.

Taking a deep breath, Barry presses a button on the remote control, and a hatch opens up on the side of each crate. Not a second after the hatch opens, four blurs of color shoot outwards into the paddock. They zoom around the paddock walls for nearly a full minute before slowing down. The four of them, each about the size of a large dog, begin to eagerly examine the enclosure, sniffing around every tree and rock. Like oversized flightless eagles, save for their beakless snouts and long bony tails, the four raptors start cawing out to each other, ruffling their feathers as they start to adjust to their new surroundings.

"Hey!" Owen calls out to them. "Eyes on me!" Three of the raptors stop in their tracks and crane their necks upwards to look at Owen. The only exception is Echo, who begins to gnaw on a low hanging limb. "Echo!" Owen yells, and Echo joins the others at attention. "Gotta work on those listening skills." Owen holds up his right hand, "Okay, and we are moving," and he begins to move along the catwalk toward the opposite chamber. The raptors largely ignore Owen, following him only with their eyes. "Yo, guys. We're moving!" he says in a more commanding voice. Blue cocks her head in a curious manner, but other than that, there's no change in their behavior.

"Oh for Christ's sake," Barry says, briskly walking to the other side of the paddock. Reaching into a pouch along his waist, he pulls out four dead mice and throws them on the ground inside.

The effect is immediate. The four raptors bolt toward the adjacent chamber, each to claim their prize. Before Blue can snap up hers, Echo darts forward and scoops it up in her snout. Blue lets out a furious snarl toward her sister, spreading her wings to make herself look more intimidating. Echo follows her lead, and accompanies the display by clacking her sickle claws against the ground.

"Hey! You two, knock it off!" Owen says

"You want us to shoot?" Hamada asks Owen, taking aim.

"No, no, no, no, hold on just a minute," Owen says , sliding down the ladder and dashing toward the truck. When he returns, he's carrying a child's Super Soaker water gun. Pumping it up, Owen aims it at the two squabbling siblings and fires. The spray of water strikes both of them in their faces. Hissing like geese, they shake off the water before backing away from each other and heading toward opposite ends of the paddock. "I'm sorry about that Blue," Owen says, reaching into Barry's pouch and pulling out two mice. Owen tosses them toward Blue, who happily snaps both of them up and purrs softly to herself. When the other three see Owen handing out more food, they congregate around Blue and starting snapping at him and cawing. "No, y'all had your chance. Next time, don't be bullies!" Owen says. "Lock it up," he says, turning to Barry.

Barry goes over to the chamber linking the two halves of the paddock, stepping up to a control panel. Pressing a big red button on the left hand side, a buzzer goes off, and a door slides shut, separating the raptors from the half where they were released. "Okay, let's get the crates out of there," Barry says.

As both Owen and Barry head for the ladder, a vibrating ring goes off on Owen's belt. Picking it up, he answers the call. "Owen," he says simply.

"Owen, it's Wu. They're about to hatch."

"Aahhhhhhh," Owen groans through his throat. "Alright, I'll be right over."

"What is it?" Barry asks.

"The freak twins are hatching," Owen says. "I have to head over to the Creation Lab. I'll try to be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, would you mind just doing some of the basic drills?"

"Sure thing," Barry says. "Okay team, you're all set. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

The ACU soldiers head back to their jeeps, and are gone in ten minutes.

"Okay, I'm heading back to the bungalow to pick up a few things, get my motorcycle, then I'm off. Like I said, I'll try to be back as soon as possible," Owen says, packing a few things into the truck.

Two hours later finds Owen, fully sterilized, standing in front of one of the priority incubators of the Creation Lab. Wu monitors the vitals as the two eggs, ovoid shaped and football sized, rock back and forth.

The first crack appears. A high-pitched wheezing sound hisses forth from the thin, followed by a single, curving claw. The claw is enormous – nearly four inches long. The rocking of the egg grows more fevered and violent, so much so that Owen actually reaches out to stabilize it. He feels something press forcefully into the palm of his hand, and he lets go as an elbow- colored like dry, rusted blood – presses through the cracking egg shell.

The whole egg splinters in one single motion as the creature inside begins to peel away shell fragments like old dead skin off of itself. Goopy red fluid sticks to the skin of the new born creature as the pieces fall off one by one. The long, whip-like tail uncurls from around the creature's body, revealing its bumpy, gnarled face for the first time. Eye lids opening, a nictitating membrane peels back revealing a crimson iris split by vertical, slit-like pupil. Shadowed by a devil-like brown horn, the eye fixates on Owen, who stares back at it with a quivering jaw.

The creature is mostly a dry, rusted iron color, with a lighter, salmon-pink underbelly. The two shades are separated by a jet black stripe running down the length of its body. The skull is stark ivory, black patches highlighting the fenestrae underneath, giving it an almost undead look to it. The back is covered in a number of thick, bony osteoderms, and there are no shortage of spikes jutting out from nearly every angle of the creature's body. The long, delicate snout has a broad, blood-red horn growing on top. Its snaggle-toothed grin is made up of no less than three different kinds of teeth, arranged randomly along the non-existent gumline. The tail almost twice the length of the rest of the body, and is tipped with both a hardened, lobed club and four tail spikes.

After Owen and the new born stare at each other for nearly a minute, the creature opens its jaws and lets out a squealing cry, like something from another world. As it does, the skin seems to ripple as yellow stripes begin materializing at the end of the snout and begin running down the whole body.

Owen's brow furrows as the creature's skin begins dancing with one color after another. "Holy shit," Owen says. He looks over at Wu, who continues typing away at his keyboard. Feeling a little sighted, Owen clears his throat and says, "Ahem…..uh, Dr. Wu?"

Looking up from his screen, Wu asks, "Yes?"

"Are you seeing this?" he says, pointing to the amazing technicolor saurian.

Wu takes a look at the infant, and his eyebrows rise somewhat lazily as he says, "Oh…oh, how uh…how interesting."

Cocking one eyebrow, Owen asks, "Did you know it could do this?"

"Oh, uh…..I wouldn't necessarily have predicted it….it must be the result of the cuttlefish genes we gave them in order to accelerate their growth rate," Wu says, casually shrugging.

Owen doesn't shrug it off so casually. "Um….okay…..uh, any other possible 'surprises' this thing might have in store for us?"

Wu stops typing. "Well, I….that I couldn't really tell you. If you like, I can give you a list of all the animals the hybrids contain genetic material from."

"Yeah, can you email me a list?" Owen says. "Sorry, guess I should have asked for that a while back."

"No worries," Wu says, finally getting up to look at the newly hatched creature.

Owen reaches out to stroke its snout, but when he does it snaps at his finger. "Jeez," he says. "Nasty little thing."

"Not too surprising," Wu says. "There are at least five different species of predator in its genetic makeup. I can only imagine how aggressive she might get," and he gives a small laugh.

A loud cracking signals the hatching of the sister egg. Once more, pieces of egg shell fall to the bottom of the incubator, accompanied by strings of dripping red fluid. The two sisters are identical twins of each other, in so far as anatomy is concerned at least. The second hatchling shivers in its seat, refusing to uncurl itself. It clings to its body, its whole form shaking rapidly in place. It looks from Wu, to Owen, to its sister, eyeing each of them with a furious blaze.

"Hiya there, little-" Owen says, trying his luck with the second born. But before he can even get within a few inches, the whole creature uncurls like a spring and lunges at him, huge claws fully bared, jaws snapping furiously like a mousetrap. "Jesus Christ!" Owen shouts at the little beasty, recoiling his hand in an instant. The monstrous chick glares at Owen intently, even as Owen is well out of reach, its throat trilling as it lets out low growls.

"Good luck getting these two into the nursery," Wu says.

Behind his back, Owen shoots Wu a look that says clearly _You're not helping._


	21. Chapter 20 - Mostly Teeth, Some Filler

To: ogrady  
From: hwu  
Subject: List of components  
Date: January 4, 2013

Owen-

Here's a list of all the species utilized in the engineering of DR1 and DR2. I've also tried to be specific in how each set of genetic material was used.

 _Tyrannosaurus rex_ (base genome)  
 _Ceratosaurus nasicornis_ (nasal horn)  
 _Carnotaurus sastrei_ (brow horns/teeth)  
 _Bitis gabonica_ (forked tongue - cosmetic)  
 _Tursiops truncatus_ (filler)  
 _Giganotosaurus carolinii_ (teeth)  
 _Amaragasaurus cazaui_ (neural spines)  
 _Ankylosaurus magniventris_ (osteoderms/tail club)  
 _Kentrosaurus aethiopicus_ (shoulder spikes)  
 _Therizinosaurus cheloniformis_ (hands/claws/arms)  
 _Homo sapiens_ (wrist)  
Unidentified dromaeosaurid ( _Velociraptor_ sp.? – legs/feet)  
 _Brachinus testaceus_ (filler)  
 _Sepia piana_ (accelerate metabolism)  
 _Nodosaurus textilis_ (ventral spikes)  
 _Diplodocus hallorum_ (tail)  
 _Scinax ruber_ (local acclimation)  
 _Stegosaurus armatus_ (tail spikes)

I hope this list clears things up and helps you to better understand the new assets. Good luck

\- Henry

To: hwu  
From: ogrady  
Subject: re: List of components  
Date: January 5,2013

Henry –

Okay, thanks for the list, but I have some very serious questions about these component species.

1\. What exactly do you mean by 'filler?' Filler is listed twice and I'm not entirely clear on what exactly you mean by that.

2\. It would have been **really** good to know that these things had bombardier beetle DNA in them before we started trying to handle them. One of the handlers nearly lost their arm because of that. He's still in the burn ward (you have been warned).

3\. The creatures appear to be capable of camouflaging in the infrared spectrum. Please let me know if any of the above listed species have that ability,

4\. I am very concerned by the presence of human DNA in these animals' genetic makeup. Apart from the potential illegality of the issue, both siblings are displaying heightened cognitive abilities. There are three species that this might be related to – the cuttlefish, the raptor, and the human. Please, please tell me that there is no trace of human DNA in their brain structure.

I'm sorry if I come off as a little angry. It's just that the two siblings have been extremely aggressive and have resisted even basic attempts at socialization. I know that it's only been a week since they hatched, but they're already less tolerant of humans than any animals I've ever worked with (and remember who you're talking to)

Please get back to me ASAP

-Owen

To: ogrady  
From: hwu  
Subject: List of components  
Date: January 5, 2013

Owen –

I apologize for the lack of clear communication on my part. When you've been reconstructing animals for as long as I have, you forget to mention core details that other people aren't as accustomed to.

Filler is simply an informal term referring to filling in gaps in the hybrids' genetic codes. There were certain key pieces of genetic information that had to make it into the genomes based on the finalized design, and some pieces were added to 'fill in' the spaces between those key pieces.

I'm terribly sorry, I didn't realize that the bombardier beetle genes would manifest themselves in that way. They were used as filler, and not meant to actually appear noticeably within the phenotype. Ingen will gladly compensate any and all medical expenses.

From what I understand, that ability probably comes from the DNA of the red-snouted tree frog (Scinax ruber). Those genes were added to help them acclimate to a tropical climate. The infrared camo-abilities must be a side effect (this wouldn't be the first time that frog DNA had unintended consequences).

I absolutely understand your concerns, Owen, but I assure you that the Diabolus do not have human levels of intelligence. Their cognitive abilities are based on those of the raptors, like yours, since we know they can be trained. So it's no surprise that they're already displaying higher levels of learning and memory.

I understand your frustrations, and commend you on your dedication to your job. The exaggerated aggression you describe actually makes sense when you consider how many predatory species are included into their genomes. The finalized creature design emphasized overly-exaggerated predator features – spikes, teeth, claws, etc. – so it is to be expected that the corresponding behavioral traits would also manifest at some point.

Again, I wish you luck as you work to acclimate them to being around humans more.

\- Henry


	22. Chapter 21 - Sibling Rivalry

Owen's jeep exits the tunnel, though the difference in light isn't much. Dark storm clouds hang low overhead, spilling slanted curtains of tropical rain all over ground. The windshield wipers work at full capacity to keep the water off of the glass. Robust tires plow through layers of mud that cover the road, formerly made of dirt. The shadows of the tall trees surrounding the road obscure what little light is filtered through the clouds. A distant rumble of thunder echoes from somewhere far off shore. Owen shivers as the air conditioning blasts the windshield at full power. Even without the cold, Owen's face is stony, his eyes unmoving from their position staring straight ahead.

The road winds around the roots of the Western mountains, curving sharply northwards. Eventually, through the fog and the layers of downpour, Owen sees the paddock come into view. Looming over 20 feet in the air, the bleak-looking concrete structure sits in the middle of a clearing in the trees. There are no windows, and no ceiling. On the side of one of the walls, an observation deck sticks out with a ladder leading down to the ground. By the side of the paddock, two cars are parked, one compact as well as one ACU jeep. "Shit," Owen whispers to himself as he pulls up next to them.

Stepping out of the driver's seat, his boots slosh in a shallow mud puddle. He slams the door so hard that the sound rings over the wind and rain. Opening the door to the back seat, he pulls out a tranquilizer rifle and slings the sash around his shoulder. He does his best to move quickly while also trying not to fall down in the mud. Climbing up the ladder, Owen bursts through the door into the observation deck.

Dim overhead lights illuminate a hard-tiled floor, the pale yellow glow reflected in the hard material. Three men stand by an elongate window looking into the paddock interior. A collection of tropical foliage fills the pen, from low lying underbrush to tall palms and other conifers. One of the men is a middle-aged worker dressed in business casual attire, while the other two are ACU soldiers dressed in their typical black gear.

"What happened?" Owen asks in a cold voice as he strides toward the window.

"I…..I'm not sure. It's best to just take a look," the worker says, turning away from the window.

Owen looks out into the inside of the paddock, trying to see past the droplets of water that cover the glass on the outside. The leaves all droop with the weight of the water soaking their soft, green flesh.

"Over there," one of the soldiers says, pointing toward the right hand side.

Turning his gaze toward the right, Owen's vision zeroes in on a slight movement under a tall tree. Low to the ground, a small shadowy figure sways slowly back and forth. Owen squints, trying to get a clearer picture of what it is he's seeing. There are only so many things it really can be, and he does discern the shape of a small(ish) theropod dinosaur, crouched on the ground, huddled over something. "What's she doing?" he asks, growing ever more anxious.

"She's…..eating….." the worker says.

"Feeding's not till 10," Owen says blankly. Turning to look at the worker, Owen asks, "What is she eating?"

After a few moments of nothing but the pounding of rain on the roof, the worker sigh and says, "her sister."

A knot binds itself in his stomach. He can feel his pulse pounding at the base of his jaw. Briskly walking over to the control panel, he punches in a few commands. Two icons appear on the screen, one labeled DR1, the other labeled DR2. While the DR2 icon shows healthy vital signs, the DR1 icon has gone offline completely.

Cold droplets crawl down Owen's brow as a lump in his throat gets caught about halfway down. He slowly brings himself to look back at the crouching creature. Now he can just about make out the shape of mangled, blood-stained bone sticking out the monster's mouth, gnawing on it like a dog with a chew toy.

Breathing through his nose, Owen spins around and heads toward the far side of the room. The other three follow him with confused eyes, all asking what he plans on doing. Moving toward the back corner, Owen reaches up and pulls down on a hatch on the ceiling. Like the stairs to an old attic, a step ladder drops down, and Owen instantly starts climbing.

Soon he is standing on the roof of the observation deck, once more drenched in pouring rain. Going right up to the edge of the roof, he throws of the satch from around his torso and takes aim. Owen peers through the viewer scope, getting a closer view of the beast as she devours her kin. Even with the scope, the layers of rainfall and the morning fog obscure his vision and prevent an obvious shot.

She looks up, in his direction. Her eyeline passes through the scope, as if she can peer right into Owen's mind. She is totally fixated on him, not moving an inch from her spot, as if daring him to do something.

His finger flirts with the trigger as he makes some attempt to understand her look. But the search for meaning just makes him more uneasy. "Fuck it," he whispers, pulling the trigger.

A loud puff of air rings out under the cacophony of the rain, followed by the flash of something pale and red shooting into the paddock. A harsh, course snarl emanates from within the paddock, and the creature darts off toward the opposite end of the pen. Looking back through the scope, Owen can see the dart sticking out of the ground. "SHIT!" he shouts over the morning storm. He's very tempted to throw the gun on the ground, but he instead resigns himself to throwing back over his shoulder.

Climbing back down the stairs, Owen looks at the worker and calls out to him, "Nick!"

"What is it?" Nick asks.

"I tried to tranq her but she got away. Now that she's onto me, there's no way I'm going to get a shot at her now, not in this storm. Not with her…..talent for hiding. I'm heading out now, call me when the rain lets up, I'm gonna come back and try to get a clear shot."

"What about us?" one of the ACU soldiers asks.

"Uh….okay, just….stay here for now. Probably nothing to worry about, but I'm just really uncomfortable about all this. Try to keep on eye on her, emphasis on 'try;" Owen says in almost hopeless voice.

"Where are you going?" Nick asks.

"I'm gonna have a word with the boss," he says in a grim tone.

* * *

"Claire," Zara says, poking her head in Claire's office.

"What is it?" Claire asks as she tries taking a bite out of a breakfast burrito that' just a little too hot.

"We got a call from the operators, the towers are acting glitchy."

Setting the burrito down, Claire says, "Jesus Christ, just we need: cell-phone reception and wifi to go down on a rainy day. Next thing you know, the IMAX will be closed for maintenance."

"Maintenance is already down there, they say that everything should be all set by opening," Zara says.

"Well, that's good at least," Claire says getting up out of her seat.

"Where are you going?" Zara asks.

"To get some water," Claire says. "I think I burned my tongue on that burrito." Zara can't help but smile a little. Walking past the employees settling down to their stations, Claire waves at everyone and bids them a small good morning. "Vivian, love the new hair," she says to Vivian, who is standing over a trash bin and wringing out her hair from the rain. Vivian does not seem to appreciate the comment.

In an instant, the elevator door opens, and Owen steps out, only to be stopped by Mark the security officer. "Sir, I need to see a badge," Mark says, holding up a hand to Owen.

"I need to speak to Claire Dearing, immediately, this is urgent," Owen says in a very restrained voice.

"Sir, this sector is for authorized personnel only. Unles you have a badge, then you have to turn around and go back downstairs."

"I'm not kidding around here, I need to speak to Claire, now!"

"I'm not kidding around either, I'm doing my job. What the fuck are you doing here?" Mark says, looking down on Owen.

Owen steps forward, but Mark put his hand on Owen's right arm. As Owen begins to resist, he sees Claire and calls out to her. "CLAIRE!"

Spinning her head around in surprise, Claire sees Owen, and starts walking toward him. "Owen," she says. "What a surprise. It's okay Mark, he's cool," she says, waving him off.

Giving Mark one final Glare, Owen turns to Claire and says, "We have a very serious problem."

Straightening up a little, Claire says, "Really? So serious you couldn't bother to call first?"

"I find I'm more persuasive in person," he says quietly.

A little unsure of how to handle the situation, she says, "Why don't you come into my office." Once both are seated in her office, Claire shuts the door so that no one but she and Owen can hear their discussion. "What's wrong."

"It's the _Diabolus_. There's something very, very wrong with-"

" _Indominus_ ," Claire says cutting him off.

Caught off guard, Owen's brow wrinkles as he says,"...what?"

"Oh you hadn't heard? Marketing decided it would be best to rename the hybrid assets to something else. Apparently, googling ' _Diabolus rex_ ' gives you some pretty family-unfriendly results-" Claire says, laughing a little toward the end.

"Whatever you want to call it!" Owen pushes on, frustratedly, "There is a very big problem with it."

"Well then….." Claire pauses. "Why do you say 'it?'"

"Because when I checked up on the holding pen this morning, I saw one of them gnawing on the bones of the other."

Claire drops the paper cup of water she'd been holding on the floor. She can feel her blood turn to ice as her jaw slacks. "What happened?" she asks in a chillingly quiet voice.

Owen relaxes a little in his seat. "I'm not sure exactly. We're still going over surveillance. But whatever started in that pen, it ended with one of them killing and eating the other."

Claire begins tapping her pen against the table. "Alright…..alright….okay, what do you suggest that we do?"

Owen purses his lips, as if holding a revelation back behind them. Finally, the seal breaks. "You really want to know? You want to know what I think we should do?" Claire nods. "Okay…..okay….I think we should kill it."

"WHAT?" Claire blurts out. Pulling back slightly, Claire says, "Owen, we can't do that! We spent over $20 million on those two, if we kill her then this was a total waste!" As Claire speaks, she can already envision the furious board in her head, screaming at her about the failure of a return for their investment. She saw the end of her career at Jurassic World as everything she'd worked to accomplish over the last decade came tumbling down.

Balling his fists in frustration, Owen says, "Listen to me! From the moment those two hatched, they displayed a very troubling combination of intelligence and aggression. Literally the very first thing DR2 tried to do upon entering the world of the living was to try to bite my hand off! But now, it's gone way beyond anything like that. She's not just aggressive, she's…...disturbed."

"Disturbed?" Claire asks him. "What, you think she needs counseling?"

Owen grinds his teeth, but otherwise ignores the remark. "I don't know if it has something to do with the way Wu engineered them or not, but as she's grown, she's become impossible to interact with directly. Any attempts have resulted in near-fatal injury to park staff. We've had to seal off all contact, she and her sister were being fed via a crane. She doesn't seem to have any other way of reacting to anything apart from aggression."

"Well, that's good!" Claire says. "We didn't breed her to be docile. She's supposed to be aggressive."

"You're not listening to me," Owen says. "Okay, the Tyrannosaurus rex is aggressive. My raptors are aggressive. But her? She's gone way beyond that. She's…..she's sadistic. And the combination of physical traits that you guys gave her makes it nearly impossible to deal with her.

"But the thing is, she's only going to get worse from here on out. She's not going to interact with anything living for the rest of her life, she's going to be hold up inside that paddock, all alone, with no kind of outside stimulation. She's only going to get more and more unbalanced. Add on top of that, she's going to grow to be over 12 tons in weight, and you basically have the mind of a serial killer inside the body of a monster dinosaur! That is not a recipe for a happy, healthy animal., nor for a safe and memorable park experience."

"I still think you are overreacting," Claire says, trying very hard not to think about what Owen is saying. "She's only scheduled to be in the holding pen for another three years, at which point she'll be transferred to her final enclosure for exhibition. When we build the enclosure, we can do it in a way that allows for better mental stimulation and environmental enrichment."

"Three years is still more than enough to fuck her up pretty bad," Owen says in a low voice.

"Oh for God's sake, Owen, it's a dinosaur!" Claire says. "Her brain is probably the size of a walnut, how bad can she get, really?"

"Yeah, my raptors are also dinosaurs, and they understand over 2000 words in the English language…..and about 100 in French," Owen shoots back. "Need I remind you that Wu based her intelligence off my girls…...I hope…"

Claire rolls her eyes and says, "Oh come on, not this again. Owen - for the last time - the human DNA in the Indominus is just to allow her greater mobility of her wrists, that's all. It has nothing to do with her intelligence."

"Yeah, so everyone keeps saying," Owen says. "But nothing changes the fact that you have an animal destined for an extremely unhappy, unsatisfying life behind glass….and that's the best case scenario here." Owen's shoulders relax a bit, and his voice softens. "Please, I am begging you - kill her now, while she's still small. Put her out of her present misery, and spare all of the future misery she's sure to endure."

"Owen," Claire says in a nearly hopeless voice. "You know I can't do that. If I go to the board and tell them that their 20 million dollar investment was euthanized, they're going to fire me all the way back to the mainland! You're asking me to choose between my livelihood vs. an overgrown lizard's!"

Owen hangs his head and let's out a deep sigh. Looking back up at her he says, "There is no happy ending here, is there?" Claire doesn't answer. "Okay," Owen says, putting his hands on the table in front of him, "here's the deal. This thing is yours, what you want to do with it is ultimately your call, so go ahead, do whatever the fuck you want with it. But I'm out. As of right now, I will no longer be involved with that animal. I wash my hands of all of this."

"Okay, fair enough," Claire says, trying to think of who she'll get to cover Owen's position.

"And also," he says standing up, "Once the raptors are fully socialized and are moved onto exhibit, I'm going to be leaving Jurassic World. I should have listened to my gut the first time, this place isn't for me. Now, you hired me to do a job, and I will see it through to the end….probably for a couple more years at least….but unless I see some serious changes in the way things run around here, I'm out."

And with that, he stands up and heads out toward the elevator without a word to Claire.

* * *

A light chorus of nocturnal frogs and insects echoes softly from the surrounding forests. Pale clouds obscure an otherwise starry sky, shimmering specks stretched against a deep violet and midnight blue. The distant sounds of music and revelry that can be heard from the center of the island have long since ended, and the beams of white light shooting into the sky have disappeared, leaving nothing but a scenery enveloped in shadow. A soft breeze sends a rustle through the tallest palms, but apart from that, and the night time wildlife, the scene is silent. Not even the quiet snoring of the four raptors could be heard, their heads tucked tenderly under their wings.

A beam of yellow light appear at the end of the dirt road leading to the raptor pen. Even the motorcycle's engine feels mutated against the quiet of the night. As it slowly wheels down the path, it comes to a stop and shuts down. Owen swings his leg over the side and stands up, a small back pack slung over his shoulder. He slides it down toward his hands as he makes his way toward the paddock entrance. As he pulls out a Styrofoam container from the backpack, he sees a small piece of paper taped to the frame of the doorway. Pulling it off, Owen pulls out his phone to act as a makeshift flashlight to read the scribbled text.

 _\- Owen_

 _Training went well today. All four allowed me to clean their teeth. They seem to be growing tired of rats, so I'd suggest shifting to chicks to keep them on their toes._

 _Blue still having problems with Echo (but what else is new)._

 _Charlie's molting, shows lack of interest in training sessions._

 _\- Barry_

 _PS: Delta ate your Oreos. I keep telling you not to leave food by the bars!_

Owen chuckles to himself as he crumples up the note and sticks in his pocket to throw away later. Walking along the edge of the paddock, Owen peers inside, and tries to pick out the four raptors dozing away under the cloudy night. Taking a seat on the damp wood chips on the ground, Owen gently taps on the iron bars and says in a voice just higher than a whisper, "Blue?"

No response. He taps a little bit louder and calls out again, drawing out the word, "Blue?"

Slowly, one of the raptors pulls its head from under its wing and looks around. Owen can see the eyes, glowing a brilliant yellow in the darkness. Encouraged, Owen calls to her, "Blue! Come here girl! Come here, Blue!" Owen sees the two yellow eyes rise and grow larger as soft, three-toed footsteps bring Blue close to the bars separating Owen from the raptors. "That's it girl, come on! I got a treat for you. Guess you could use it huh? Heard you had some issues with Echo again?"

Blue doesn't answer, instead poking her snout into the space between the iron bars. Even her narrow snout doesn't fit all the way through.

Owen opens up the Styrofoam container, revealing two slices of Chilean sea bass. When the lid swings open, Blues nostrils begin to flare eagerly, and her tail bobs up and down. Tearing off a chunk with his fingers, Owen very slowly reaches toward the bars. When he gets about two inches from Blue's snout, she snaps furiously at the offering of food.

In an instant, Owen pulls his hand back and says, "Whoa, whoa hey! What is this?! Is this how I raise you? No, fuck that noise, you're not getting anything if that's your attitude!"

The raptor doesn't seem to know, or care, what Owen is saying. Its eyes remained fixated on the fish, and it clicks the end of its snout hungrily.

"No no," Owen says shaking his head. "Nope. You work for it." He tries again, slowly bringing the morsel of bass up toward the pointed snout peeking out through the bars. When Owen's fingers get just a few inches away, the raptor gently and cautiously opens its mouth. Smiling, Owen says, "Well, alright then," and he tosses the sea bass on her tongue. When it hits her tongue, she throws her head back and swallows it hole.

Owen continues to feed Blue in this way, tossing chunks of fish into her mouth, and she eagerly laps them up. After about fifteen minutes, the feeding is interrupted by a low, hissing snarl coming from inside the pen. Blue immediately turns in place, her feathers starting to ruffle.

"Oh no," Owen says, quickly getting to his feet. Afraid he might have to diffuse the situation, he walks along the edge of the bars, pressing a button near the paddock gateway. White lights blaze from the catwalk above, so strong they force Owen to shield his eyes for a second.

When he adjusts, he sees both Blue and Echo standing at full attention, circling each other viciously, baring their teeth and spreading their wings. Each one hurls nasty snarls and growls at the other, clacking at the ground with their sickle claws. Their tails are raised at full, and the fans of feathers circling the tips are spread to their full length.

Both Charlie and Delta also wake and get to their feet, staying to the sides as they watch their two sisters challenge each other.

Owen blinks, and misses the moment when the two raptors propel themselves off the ground with two powerful leaps, pulling their legs in close for a fraction of a second before unleashing them in a series of violent kicks. They snapped at each other's faces, Echo's jaws snapping around Blue's. From this vantage, Echo forces Blue downward as she keeps pouring on more and more kicks. As the kicks go on, feathers start flying from Blue's underside, and Echo's sickle claw is stained crimson.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Owen says, pounding his hand against the bars, helpless to do anything.

Echo swings her head back and forth, Blue forced to follow from within her opponent's jaws. Gaining momentum, Echo tosses Blue toward the paddock wall, slamming her against the bars. Blue lets out a squeaking noise as her side crashes against the iron. Barely able to keep on her feet, Blue watches as Echo approaches her sister with killer intent gleaming in her yellow eyes.

Echo pulls back her head in preparation for another lunge at Blue's face. But as Echo's snout darts forward, Blue's left wing swings forward and the claws on her fingers make contact with Echo's eye. A hideous, high-pitched screeching sound explodes into the night. A huge, bloody gash mark streaks across Echo's eye, causing her to stumble clumsily around the paddock.

Blue stands to her full height, watching as Echo wanders aimlessly around, shrieking endlessly. Taking careful aim, Blue begins to dash at full speed toward her partially blinded adversary. Just within a few feet of her, Blue explodes off the ground and unleashes forth the full might of both legs toward Echo. Both of her sickle claws slide right into Echo before being pulled out as the raptor is flown backward against the opposite set of iron bars at the other end of the paddock.

"OH SHIT!" Owen says, putting his hand over his mouth.

The weakened Echo collapses to the ground in a bloody, feathery heap. Weak, squeaky breathes escape her slackened jaw, indicating that she is still alive. The triumphant Blue stands in the center of the paddock chamber, tall as she can be, wings fully spread. She lets out a series of deep, snarling caws. Delta and Charlie spread their wings, and answer the call, bowing their head sin submission.


	23. Chapter 22 - You Bred Raptors?

Claire sits cross legged in her office, comfortable behind her desk. A half-eaten corn muffin sits on a napkin next to an ice latte. Sticking a pen into her bottom lip, Claire stares down at the crossword puzzle in front of her. In the upper reaches of her peripheral vision, she catches the vague outline of bodies moving about in the control room. The faint and faded ring of telephones drifts through into her office, but apart from that, she sits in complete silence, contemplating the next clue.

"Hmm…..'the builder, decapitated by Louis VI, pathetically unaware'…at least one L."

Three loud knocks sound on her office door. Looking up, nonplussed and slightly confused, Claire says, "Come in?" with an upward inflection.

The door swings open inwards, and in steps a tall, overweight man, with nothing but a buzz cut and a goatee making up his hair. Closing the door behind him, he looks at her and says, "Claire Dearing?"

"Yes…?"

"Vic Hoskins," he says, flashing a security badge from his waist.

"Ahh, so finally we meet in person," Claire says, putting down the crossword puzzle. "To what do I owe this little visit?"

"What's this shit I hear about you breeding _Velociraptors_ on the island?" Hoskins asks in a low, fierce voice

Claire raises an eyebrow. "Really?" she asks dryly. "You're serious? You ask me this now?" She sighs heavily. "Well, good to know you read the memos I send you…"

"Enough with the attitude!" he snarls at her.

"Well, seriously Hoskins, it's really not okay, you know? The raptors are fully grown at this point, they hatched four years ago! And the decision to breed them was made nearly a year before that! If you have a problem with raptors, you should have brought it to attention sometime then."

"I've been busy," he grunts. "I've really been cracking down on breaches of island security on Sorna. I don't always time to be kept abreast of everything that goes on here at Disney World."

"And we truly appreciate all the hard work that Ingen does, we truly, truly do!" she says with a false flutter of her eyelashes. "But nonetheless, this information has been freely available to you for years at this point. Surely if it was this important, it would have been brought to your attention long ago."

"Regardless," he says, pushing onwards, "What on earth would cause you to think that breeding raptors on this island was a good idea?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the thousands of guests who have requested that we have them ever since the park first opened? Maybe?" Claire says, still acting largely disinterested.

"You have no idea what you've done," Hoskins says. "Raptors are vicious. Ruthless. They can't be tamed, they can't be controlled. You are setting this park up for a bloodbath the likes of which you've never seen."

Again, Claire raises an eyebrow, and even manages a small smirk. "You think so, huh?" she says with a small, derisive chuckle. "Well, it's funny you should say that, since we have a pair of raptor trainers whose four years-worth of experience would say otherwise."

Hoskins actually begins to laugh, shaking his head. "You're out of your mind. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"I think you'll find I have some idea, actually," Claire says, straightening up in her seat.

"And what makes you say that?" Hoskins asks with a sneer.

Breathing through her nose, Claire glances briefly at her office windows. With no indications that they will soon be disturbed, Claire begins. "Lilah told me about your little clean up problems during park development."

"What?" Hoskins hisses. "You knew? And you still went ahead with this!?"

"Hoskins, listen," she says, standing up. "These raptors are different. Apart from actually looking like real raptors, instead of the mutant lizard things you're probably thinking of, these animals have spent their entire lives with humans. They were hand fed since they first hatched. They understand over 1000 English words, and can respond to verbal and visual commands."

The last part causes Hoskin's entire demeanor to change. He stands a little taller, but relaxes his once tense shoulders. His expression softens and his eyes widen slightly. "Really?"

"That's right," Claire says, crossing her arms.

"Huh….what sorts of commands?" Hoskins asks, scratching his hairy chin.

"Well, you know, basic stuff. Stay, stand down, go, that sort of thing."

"No kidding," Hoskins says, actually starting to smile. "Now that's interesting…"

"Quite," Claire says. "Now, unless you have anything else you want to shout at me, I have to get back to some very serious work," she says, reaching toward the crossword puzzle.

"You know, I know I may be asking too much here, but I'd really like to be able to check out a training session…if it's not too much to ask," Hoskins says, with as friendly a smile as he can muster.

Claire is frozen in place, contemplating the sheer nerve of this man. "Yeah, I mean, you only burst into my office and started yelling at me for no reason over something you should have known about 5 years ago. I practically owe you!" she says, flashing a smile as seemingly friendly as his.

"Yeah….sorry about that," he says meekly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Sometimes I can be a bit of a hot head. Wouldn't be the first time it's gotten me in trouble."

Relaxing her stance a bit, Claire says, "Look. More than anything, I just want this moment to be over." She reaches into a coffee mug filled with various office supplies and pulls out a single business card. Taking the pen, she hastily scribbles her signature on it. "Just get any ACU hanging around to take you to the research center. It's located away from public exhibition, on the other side of the Western mountains. It's only accessible by service road. If any of the trainers give you any problems, just show them this," she says, handing him the business card. "This gives you my seal of approval. If they have a problem with you being there, they can take it up with me."

Smiling widely, Hoskins takes the card and says, "Well alright then! Much obliged, Ms. Dearing."

"Beautiful, now get out of my office please," Claire says, sitting back down and paying him no further heed. The instruction is followed gleefully by Hoskins, who practically skips his way toward the elevator.

* * *

"Come on! Move!" the boy says, his voice being drowned out by the squealing pig tugging hard against the noose wrapped around its neck. It stands resolute, even as he pulls with all of his might in the direction of the paddock. The noose is tied to the end of a 6 foot pole, the handle of which begins to slip from the boys hands. With one toss of its head, the pig wrenches the handle out of his hands, eliciting a muffled, "Fuck!" from the frazzled worker.

Laughing quietly to himself, Owen approaches the worker. "She giving you a hard time?" he asks, patting the young man on the back.

"It's just- I can't get her to budge. It's…..it's as if she knows…"

"Yeah, well…..that's because she does. Or, she knows something's not quite right anyway," Owen says. "Pigs are a lot smarter than most animals." He reaches down and grabs the pole. Then, he walks around the pig, standing directly behind it. As Owen starts to walk forward toward the pig, the frightened animal starts trotting away from him, straight in the direction of the paddock. He leads her, from behind, into a small container connected to the side. "Watch the sides, would you?" Owen says to the boy. With some careful maneuvering, the pig ends up inside the crate, a hatch shutting behind. "You're the new guy, right?"

"Yeah," the boy says. "I'm an intern from UCLA. Jeff. Jeff Simpson." He holds out his hand.

"Simpson, eh?" Owen says, taking the hand firmly in his and giving it a good shake. "Excellent," he says in a low voice, twiddling his fingers together. When he sees Jeff's confused look, he says, "Mr. Burns? The Simpsons, you know?"

"Oh, right," Jeff says, as if he's heard this many times before.

"How long you here till, Jeff?" Owen asks.

"Till the end of May."

Owen whistles. "Well, better get comfortable, and make friends with our safety procedures."

"Yes sir," Jeff says.

Owen is about to correct his usage of the word 'sir' but his attention is re-directed toward a black ACU jeep plowing down the dirt road. "What do they want?" Owen asks to himself.

The jeep pulls up about 200 feet from the paddock and comes to a full stop. The driver is an ACU trooper, but a tall, overweight man steps out of the passenger side, his brow already starting to sweat. Both Owen and the newcomers begin to approach each other. The man reaches down and pulls out a badge from his back pocket. "Hey, Vic Hoskins, head of Ingen Private Security."

"Owen Grady," Owen says, offering his hand. "Pleasure."

"It's all mine," Hoskins says, shaking Owen's hand. "I hear you fellas got quite an operation set up here, training raptors."

"That we do," Owen says.

"You guys doing any training right now?" Hoskins asks.

"Not yet, we were just about to start some basic drills."

"Awesome!" Hoskins says, clapping his hands. "You mind if I take a look?"

Owen shrugs. "I don't mind. Is that why you come down here, just to look in?"

"There's not a problem is there?" Hoskins asks perfectly innocently, as her fingers his pant pocket for the Claire's business card.

"No problem here….it just seems a little odd, is all. We don't get a lot of visitors over here."

"What can I say, just curious I guess," Hoskins says.

"Well, always happy to feed some curiosity," Owen says, giving Hoskins a small smile before turning back toward the paddock.

Following behind, Hoskins says, "I talked with Dearing about this a little while ago. From what she says, you guys have done an incredible job with these animals."

"Did she now?" Owen says, unable to resist the feeling of flattery. "How very nice of her."

"Now I may have misheard her, but I thought she said that they can understand over 1000 words. Is that right?"

"You got it," Owen says, a feeling of pride growing in his heart. "My girls comprehend the English language at the same level of a four year old human child. They can understand words well enough to use them to differentiate between different kinds of shapes, colors, things like that."

"Unbelievable," Hoskins says almost wistfully. "How did you get 'em to do that?"

"Well, let me show you," Owen says, leading Hoskins toward the ladder toward the upper level catwalk. Once up top, they see Barry lugging a few boxes along the walk way, bringing them toward the dividing section of the enclosure.

Looking into the pen, Hoskins scans the foliage for any sign of the creatures within. He isn't sure what exactly he's looking for, only that it's not what he expects. Then, standing next to a palm tree, he catches sight of something. It's difficult to judge from the distance, but it looks as if it's approximately six feet tall – a six foot tall eagle, the feathers colored a dull turquoise. Hoskins is immediately confused. He knows that this must be one of the raptors, but he wasn't prepared for such a drastic difference in appearance. A far cry from the reptilian monsters who terrorized his men ten years ago, this creature looked indistinguishable from an oversized bird of prey, save the naked snout in place of the hooked beak. Most of the rest of it is obscured by the surrounding under brush. It stands so perfectly still that Hoskins wonders if it might be a statue for a second. But a sideways blink of its piercing yellow eye confirms its liveliness.

"Is that one of them?" Hoskins asks, even though he knows the answer already.

A quick glance, and Owen says, "Yup, that's Delta. The other three are down there somewhere."

"Whoa…looks like a giant bird!" Hoskins says.

"Well, they practically are birds," Owen says. "In fact, raptors are more closely related to birds than they are to _T. rex_."

"No kidding," Hoskins says. "They really are supposed to have feathers, not scaly skin?"

Owen cocks his head to one side, "Basically, yes. The raptors that lived on earth tens of millions of years ago would have been fully feathered from head to tail, including wing feathers on their arms. You just can't see Delta's because their folded right now."

"But I thought dinosaurs were reptiles?"

"They are," Owen says. "It's just that some branches of the reptile family tree, such as those that include lizards and snakes and crocodiles, have scaly skin. And others, such as the branch that includes birds and other dinosaurs, evolved feathers. They're still reptiles, they've just changed a lot more than some other types of reptiles."

"It's crazy," Hoskins says. "I used to think of raptors as these…like, giant lizard things."

"Science marches on," Owen says with a shrug. "Come this way," he says, gesturing toward where Barry is standing with the boxes. "Vic Hoskins, this is Barry Colbert, our other resident raptor wrangler. Barry, this is Vic Hoskins, head of Ingen's Private Security division."

"How do you do?" Barry says, quickly shaking Hoskin's hand.

"Not bad, just thought I'd drop in on a training session," Hoskins says.

Barry cocks an eyebrow, but then shrugs and says, "Suit yourself." Barry then reaches down and picks up one of the boxes. Closer now, Owen can see that box is filled with stuffed animals; dozens and dozens of every kind.

"What are you gonna do with those?" Hoskins ask.

"You'll see," Owen says.

Barry begins circling the opposite chamber of the paddock, the one without any raptors in it, and he begins throwing in stuffed animals one at a time. An elephant behind a tree. A lobster in a shrub. A Teddy bear nestled between two rocks. He intentionally places them in spots that are hidden and out of the way, as if hiding Easter eggs. After throwing the entire box worth of animals inside, he returns to Owen and Hoskins. "Okay, all set."

Nodding, Owen picks up a clicker from his waist. "Okay, who are we starting out with today?"

"Well, we started with Blue last week, so let's go with Charlie," Barry says, checking a sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"What are their names?" Hoskins asks.

"We've got Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo," Owen says.

"Blue?" Hoskins asks, picking out the oddity. "How come the rest are all military alphabet, except for her?"

"Her official designation on paper is as Bravo," Owen says. "But I called her Blue when she first hatched because of her blue stripes. The name stuck, and now she won't answer to anything else."

"Huh….but then, who's the alpha?" Hoskins asks.

"Who else," Owen says, looking at Barry. Both men give each other a high five. Looking down into the paddock, Owen calls out, "Charlie!" At first, nothing happens. "Charlie!" Owen says again, more forcefully. From the back of the paddock, something darts out of a grove of ferns. It stops just underneath the three men, looking up expectantly at Owen. Hoskins now recognizes the large, sickle-shaped claw held off the ground on the second toe of each foot. "Okay Charlie," Owen says to her. "Find the whale."

Charlie's eyes shift toward Hoskins, and her tail starts to lazily drift from side to side. "Why's she looking at me," Hoskins says getting nervous.

"It's okay, she just doesn't recognize you. She's curious, that's all," Barry says.

"Charlie!" Owen says again. Still, Charlie ignores him in favor of Hoskins. "Charlie! CHARLIE!" he nearly shouts at her, which finally gets her to shift back on to him. "Charlie – focus! Find the whale. Find the whale," he says, putting emphasis on the last word. He turns to Barry and nods.

Barry pushes a button on the control panel nearby. A buzzer sounds, and the door to the adjacent chamber slides open. Once the door is clear, Charlie trots out into the chamber, craning her neck from one side to the other. She instantly starts to nudge every nook and cranny with her snout, turning over rocks and pushing aside low-lying foliage. Upon discovering a dog or cat, she would ignore it and continue on her search. At one point, she spies a fish, and eyes it with interest. But after starting at it for a few seconds, she loses interest and continues on her search. After finally finding a stuffed sperm whale stuck on top of some brambles, she stares at it intently for nearly 30 seconds before letting out a single caw, and taking the whale in her mouth. Despite the savagery of her jaws and teeth, she is very delicate as she carries the small toy back out into the other chamber. Turning around to face Owen, she shows him the toy.

Owen presses the clicker in his hand, and reaches into a container hanging off the rails. He pulls out a small, yellow duckling and tosses it at Charlie. Dropping the toy, Charlie snaps up the offering eagerly. "Good girl, Charlie. Excellent work. How much was that?" Owen says, turning to Barry.

Looking at a stopwatch, Barry says, "42.32 seconds. That's a 4 second improvement from last week."

"Nice, making progress Charlie," Owen says smiling at the raptor.

"Holy shit, that was incredible!" Hoskins says, laughing almost hysterically.

"Now don't be fooled. That might have looked like it was easy, but it's taken a long time to get them to this point. They're not always this cooperative…"

"But I mean, how did you do it? Raptors are vicious, nasty little monsters, how did you get them to this point?"

Owen gives him a sly look. "You say that as if from experience."

"Well, I mean, just what I've seen from movies," Hoskins says with a careless shrug.

"To be honest, it actually wasn't as tricky to get them here as it might seem. We're starting to learn that a lot of behaviors that we used to associate with so-called higher animals, like primates, are actually more widespread in the animal kingdom. Hell, even crocodiles can use tools. Big crocs and lizards can even be target trained in captivity.

"Having said that, raptor brains are extraordinarily built. It was used to be thought that raptor dinosaurs weren't as intelligent as some modern animals because they didn't have the right brain structure. But from what we can tell, their brain structure may be different from what we originally thought, so that they utilize different parts of their brain in cognition. It's not too surprising when you remember that some of raptors' closest living relatives, like crows and parrots, are just as intelligent, if not moreso, than chimpanzees."

"If you say so," Hoskins says. "But how do you get them to respond to commands like that?"

"Oh that's the easiest part," Owen says. "Raptors and humans have a shared social intelligence."

"What does that mean?"

"It's like….okay, so you know how chimpanzees are our closest living relatives?"

"Yeah, don't they share like, what, 99% of our DNA with them?" Hoskins asks.

"Right," Owen says, "and that's why they're so intelligent. But chimps are a nightmare to try and train because they're not receptive. They're just not interested in doing what you say, not even if you reward them. They have the capacity, they just lack the initiative.

"Now, compare that to something like a wolf, or a dog, and it's a whole other story. Dogs are by far the easiest animals to train because they're receptive. They actually like working with people. They understand the importance of teamwork and communication because they're pack hunters. Those are the essential tools of a pack hunting predator. Same goes for animals like dolphins."

"And for raptors?" Hoskins asks.

"Exactly. Like other pack hunting animals, including us, raptors respond well to training because that element of communication and teamwork, supplemented with positive reinforcement, is built right into them."

"Wow," Hoskins says in a quiet voice. "Who would have thought?"

"Now before I make it sound a lot easier than it was, remember, they are wild animals. Getting them to where they are today has been no easy chore, and they can still be pretty aggressive. No personnel are allowed to go in and interact directly with the raptors."

"They attack you," Hoskins ask.

"Hell yeah, they do," Owen says, pulling up his shirt to reveal the scarred remnants of a huge slash mark streaking across the right side of his torso, right over his appendix.

"Jesus Christ," Hoskins says, going wide eyed at the scar. "One of them did that?"

"Sure did. Echo. That was back when they were first starting to enter adolescence. After that, we decided no one is allowed with them anymore. That's why the paddock is constructed into these two chambers. That way we can seal the raptors in one chamber, clean the other, and then switch them out."

"Well that's certainly clever," Hoskins says. "Now, if you went in there with them, right now, would they attack you?"

"They might," Owen says. "On the one hand, I've fed them since they first hatched. They know me, and I'd like to think they trust me. On the other hand, you just can never know for certain what's going on in the mind of wild animal. You watch them, you observe their body language, you try to pick up on the slightest hint that something may be off….but sometimes, there is no warning. Sometimes, you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes, they just have very bad days. "

The training resumes, and Charlie is tasked with finding an elephant and a chicken. Her only flub is that she mistakes a turkey for a chicken the first time around, but she very quickly rectifies her mistake. The training progresses to the point where Barry fills the paddock with apples of different colors, and Charlie is tasked with finding apples of the correct color. She successfully manages to identify a red apple, a yellow apple, and a green apple, all on her first try. Training then moves on to the other three raptors, who prove just as competent – if not more so in some cases – in understanding the words and commands given to them by Owen and Barry. Barry notes that each one is on a general path of improvement on their previous attempts.

Hoskins watches totally transfixed, not only by the training sessions themselves, but also by the raptors interacting with each other. He can clearly see how right Owen was about the complexity of their body language and vocalizations. Their communication is very deliberate and calculating. Each snap of their jaws and clack of their claws is not a mindless act of aggression, but a conscious decision made by each raptor about how best to communicate what they are thinking and feeling to their pack members.

His mind races with ideas.


	24. Chapter 23 - Pressure

Zara stands by the entrance to Claire's office, standing with her back to the wall, to the side of the mirror. She pays no attention to the bustle of the control room taking place in front, instead focusing on the pounding of her heart. Her breaths are deep and strained as she goes over the possible scenarios again and again in her mind. Finally deciding to push forward, she tosses a mint from her purse into her mouth, and turns in her spot to reach for the door.

When she opens up, she sees Clair sitting at her desk, speaking on her work phone. "Yes. Oh absolutely, Ms. Martin, it looks fantastic. I promise it's going to be our best attraction yet. People are already starting to book for the week of the first. Excellent, great to hear. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much." Setting the phone down, Claire looks at Zara and says, "Hey Zara. What's up?"

Zara freezes up instantly, staring at Claire with an unmoving face, complete with half-slack jaw. After a moment, she says, "Uh…..did you remember to call your sister?"

"Oh shit, no I forgot. Thanks Zara," Claire says, turning away and taking out her phone.

A disappointed Claire lets out a small sigh before stepping out of the office and standing back against the door.

After two rings of the phone, Claire hears her sister's voice over the other line. "Claire?"

"Hey Karen," Claire says, trying to keep a casual voice. "I saw you called me the other day?"

"Yeah, it's really been a while," Karen says in a grumbling voice. But she restrains her frustrations as she presses on. "I actually have a huge request."

"Shoot," Claire says.

"Scott and I have some business we have to take care of, and we'd really, really appreciate it if the boys could be away for it. We'd really rather they not get involved."

"Uh, okay," Claire says, slightly confused by the first part. "Any idea when you want to send them down?"

"I was hoping I could send them down toward the end of the year? Like, right after Christmas?"

Claire closes her eyes and rests her forehead in the palm of her hand as she puts her elbow on the table. "Uh….are you sure you can't pick, like, any other time of the year?"

"I don't really have much of a choice here," Karen says. "The boys both have school, they can't just take off whenever they want. The winter vacation is the only time coming up that gives them…and us….enough time."

Her curiosity starting to get the better of her, Claire asks, "What kind of business exactly do you and Scott need to take care of?"

The line is silent for a minute. Then Karen's voice comes through. "Scott and I are getting a divorce."

"Oh, Karen….I'm so sorry," she says, halfheartedly. "Did anything happen?"

"Just life," Karen says. "It's-it's just not working out, simple as that. 17 years is enough for the both of us."

"And you want to send the boys away while you work everything out?" Claire asks.

"Yup," Karen says. "Zach probably won't care too much, but I'm really worried about how Grey will take it. He's a really sensitive boy, and I just know he's going to be crushed. He deserves to have good time before this hits him."

"Uh….okay, okay, I see. Well, here's the thing, Karen. We're planning on unveiling our newest attraction on January 1st. You know, new year, new era sort of thing. Anyway, this new attraction is…..well, it's a real monster, let me tell you. But that also means it's really high-maintenance. All my time and energy is going to be focused on transferring it from its holding pen to its permanent enclosure. I'm really not going to have enough time to really spend with the boys."

"Please I am begging you," Karen says. "You haven't seen the boys in forever, and I haven't seen you in nearly 10 years. You have absolutely not been good with keeping in touch lately. If you don't make an effort to stay connected, you're going to completely lose touch! You're an aunt, Claire. It's not too much to ask that you spend a couple of days with your nephews."

"I know, I know, okay?" Claire says, getting frustrated. "And, you're right, I do need to spend more time with them. But the timing there is really, REALLY bad! I can't be trying to look after your kids while I'm trying to take care of this monster dinosaur!"

"Claire!" Karen says, "First of all, they're not just my kids, they're your nephews. Secondly, are you telling me that you can't spend just one day or two out having fun with them? I'm not asking you to quit your job, just find _some_ time, that's all! For god's sake, Claire, try and be part of this family!"

Claire hears Karen's shaking voice, and can picture, very clearly, the tears that must be welling up in her eyes. "Okay….okay….I 'll arrange a room for them for that week. Again, I can't promise that I'll spend every waking hour with them…but I will try to take a day off or two for them."

"Thank you," Karen says in a slow voice. "I have to go now, but please update me when you've worked everything out, okay?"

Claire says, "I will. But you will have to take care of the airfare for them. I can take care of ferry tickets, park passes, and everything else. Oh, and when you are buying plane tickets tell them you know me. We have a partnership with American Airlines, so I can get you a discount, but only if you buy from there, okay?"

"Okay, I can do that," Karen says. "Thank you."

"No problem. Anything else?"

"Not for now. Just remember, you are always free to call, okay? It's always good to hear from you."

"I know, I'm sorry. Things here have just been crazy. We have so many things going on, I've lost count of how many species we have here."

"Oh well, at least that means an exciting week for the boys right?" Karen asks.

"Definitely," Claire says. "We have, like, five times as many species now as we had when Zach came. When the boys see our new attraction, they're going to freak out."

"Great," Karen says. "You know, Grey is still totally obsessed with dinosaurs."

"Well then, he's in for a real treat," Claire says.

"Awesome. Okay, bye Claire," Karen says.

"Bye Karen, I'll talk to you later," Claire says before hanging up. Putting her phone away, she looks up to see Zara step back into her office. "Something up?" Claire asks.

Zara takes in a deep breath before stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind her. "Claire…there's something I need to say."

Claire already feels an uncomfortable knot forming in her gut. "What is it?"

"I….I'm putting in my two weeks' notice," Zara says. "I'm leaving."

A sudden cold panic shoots through Claire's veins. "What?" she asks softly.

"I'm quitting," Zara says in a louder voice.

"Okay…any particular reason why?"

"I….I met someone," Zara says. "We met last year. His name is Alex. We met at a family Christmas party, and have been maintaining a long-distance-relationship ever since. But…but we've finally decided to get married. I'm moving to live with him in London."

"I see…" Claire says, picturing, in her mind, a world without Zara. A world where appointments don't get made, arrangements aren't remembered, messages aren't communicated. A world where all the weight of the job is placed entirely on her own shoulders, without an aid to take some of it off. A world without Zara's vivid green eyes, or her brilliant, jet black hair.

Zara says, "Alright then….so that's settled?"

Zara's words break Claire from her trance. She gets up out of her seat, and walks toward Zara, stopping right in front of her. "Zara, please. Please don't leave, please don't."

"Claire, I can't do this anymore!" Zara says. "There's nothing for me here."

Claire tries to think of an answer to that, but she knows that Zara is right. "Just…just, not yet, please! Give me just a little more time."

"When?" Zara says. "How much more time do you need from me?"

"Just…..just, until the end of the year. Stay just until the _Indominus_ goes on exhibit, please. I have never had this much anxiety here before. I've been having nightmares about this, about everything that can go wrong. I need you, Zara. I need a strong, competent assistant to help me get through this."

Zara just looks at Claire, pursing her lips. Finally, she says, "Fine….January 1st, that's my last day. I mean it, Claire. By January 2nd, 2016, I fully expect to be gone."

"Absolutely, yes," Claire says frantically nodding. "Thank you so much, Zara."

"Yeah well….you're just glad I like you so much."


	25. Jurassic World 2015 Visitor Brochure

Jurassic World 2015 Park Map

 **Animal Attractions**

 ** _T. rex_** **Kingdom**  
Come face to face with Jurassic World's most fearsome resident! _Tyrannosaurus rex_ : the tyrant lizard king (or queen in our case). Standing over 13 feet tall at the hip, stretching nearly 40 feet from nose to tail, and weighing in at over 7 tons, our resident rex has lived on Isla Nublar for over 20 years, and has more than earned her ferocious reputation. In this hectare-sized enclosure, the Queen of the Dinosaurs reigns supreme, tearing through the jungle primeval. Witness her awesome power at one of our feeding shows, scheduled every two hours starting at 10 AM. But fear not – during your stay in _T. rex_ Kingdom, she'll never know your here. Constructed into the side of an artificial fallen tree, the viewing area consists of one-way palladium micro-alloy glass – stronger than steel – that separates you from the most powerful jaws of any land animal ever.

 **Note** : Due to the nature of this attraction, the _T. rex_ feeding shows are not recommended for children under the age of 13, or for teenagers and adults adverse to graphic violence. **Visitor discretion is strongly advised**.

Species featured:

\- _Tyrannosaurus_

 **Gyrosphere  
** The latest in exhibit immersion, our patented Gyrospheres allow you to get as close as you can to some of our most spectacular creatures. Within the safety of your Gyrosphere, you and your party will experience the awe-inspiring majesty of some of the most fantastic animals ever to live on our planet. You are free to travel anywhere in the dinosaur habitat, and observe them as they go about their daily business. Listen carefully for the haunting trumpeting calls of our _Parasaurolophus_. Watch in excitement as our feisty _Triceratops_ lock horns. Or gaze up in wonder at the gigantic _Apatosaurus_ , stretching over 80 feet from their heads to the tips of their whip-like tails.

The Gyrospheres are constructed from a palladium micro-alloy: a special kind of glass stronger than steel. As a result, they can withstand the assault of even the most ornery _Ankylosaurus_. Gyroscopic technology ensures that you stay upright at all time. As you travel through the exhibit, Comedian Jimmy Fallon, will use his trademark wit provide scientific information about the numerous residents of our Gyrosphere valley.

 **NOTE:** Wild animals need boundaries, and those boundaries must be respected. The animals have been conditioned to give the Gyrospheres a wide berth, and the Gyrospheres are programmed to automatically move away from animals that come within 20 feet of them. These precautions are for the health and safety of both the animals and our visitors.

Gyrosphere excursions last for one hour. Designated sign posts are in place to help lead guests back to the loading platform. It is imperative that the Gyrospheres return to the loading platform on time, to ensure that all guests get to enjoy the experience in as timely a manner as possible. All Gyrospheres are equipped with clocks as well as automatic reminders to make sure guests know when to return to the station. **Failure to return Gyrospheres on time will result in a $50 fine.**

Taking Gyrospheres outside of designated spaces is strictly prohibited. All Gyrospheres can be overridden from Park Control **. Taking Gyrospheres outside of the attraction will result in immediate expulsion from the park with no refunds.**

Species featured:

\- _Apatosaurus_

\- _Triceratops_

\- _Stegosaurus_

\- _Parasaurolophus_

\- _Camarasaurus_

\- _Ankylosaurus_

\- _Othnielia_

 ** _Gallimimus_** **Valley  
** When Masrani Global first came to Isla Nublar in 2002, this wide open valley was home to a gaggle of galloping _Gallimimus_ – dinosaurs that look like ostriches. Today, their descendants still call this valley home, though they now sport a coat of fluffy, downy feathers. As they travel up and down the valley in search of plants and small animals to stuff into their toothless mouths, they encounter a variety of extraordinary creatures. From the walking tank that is the _Euoplocephalus_ to the ridiculously long-necked _Mamenchisaurus_ , _Gallimimus_ Valley is home-sweet-home to animals the likes of which you'd never imagine in your wildest dreams. Jump aboard our all-terrain transporter vehicles with an experienced, knowledgeable guide who will reveal the hidden secrets of our prehistoric friends.

 **NOTE** : Dropping litter or food into the enclosure is strictly prohibited, as it presents a potential health hazard to our animals **. Anyone caught littering or feeding dinosaurs unauthorized food will be subject to a $250 fine.**

Species featured:

\- _Gallimimus_

\- _Edmontosaurus_

\- _Mamenchisaurus_

\- _Dryosaurus_

\- _Euoplocephalus_

\- _Diabloceratops_

\- _Corythosaurus_

 **Tree Top Trek  
** Going up! Travel along an elevated boardwalk among the canopy and watch the prehistoric spectacle unfolding just below you. From your very own sauropod's-eye-view, you can watch as horned _Styracosaurus_ browse among the groves of lush ferns, or watch the ridiculously bizarre _Deinocheirus_ as it pulls down low hanging branches toward its duck-billed snout. Well out of reach of the animals below, you are presented with the unique opportunity to observe them in the midst of their daily lives. Toward the end of your trek, you'll come face to face with Jurassic World's biggest inhabitant – the mighty _Brachiosaurus_. These behemoths can weigh as much as a jumbo jet! Keep your eyes on the river, and you may notice two of our largest meat-eaters – _Baryonyx_ and _Suchomimus_ – as they sweep through the flowing waters with their crocodile-like snouts in search of fresh fish.

 **Note** : Visitors who suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights) would be advised to avoid this attraction

Dropping litter or food into the enclosure is strictly prohibited, as it presents a potential health hazard to our animals **. Anyone caught littering or feeding dinosaurs unauthorized food will be subject to a $250 fine.**

Species featured

\- _Brachiosaurus_

\- _Deinocheirus_

\- _Therizinosaurus_

\- _Baryonyx_

\- _Suchomimus_

\- _Anchisaurus_

\- _Styracosaurus_

\- _Hadrosaurus_

 **Cretaceous Cruise  
** Paddle down river to get a close up look at our majestic megafauna. Traveling in your very own kayak, you will watch as ancient titans from bygone ages come to river's edge to drink and feed. Special sensors in the kayaks interact with chips imbedded in the dinosaurs' skin, letting them know when they've gotten too close. Your journey will be led by one of our experienced Jurassic guides, who will make sure to point out each and every spectacular sight you're sure to see along the shores of the river. Here, you will encounter some of the lesser-known dinosaurs, such as _Miragaia_ and _Nasutoceratops_ , as well as the absolutely enormous, long-necked _Dilplodocus_.

 **Note** : Must be fit enough to navigate in a kayak for a minimum of one hour.

Wild animals need boundaries, and those boundaries must be respected. The animals have been conditioned to give the kayaks a wide berth. Guests must not approach animals directly. These precautions are for the health and safety of both the animals and our visitors. **Any guests caught approaching any of the animals will be fined $250**.

Species featured:

\- _Dilplodocus_

\- _Maiasaura_

\- _Nasutoceratops_

\- _Einiosaurus_

\- _Miragaia_

\- _Mussaurus_

 **Coastal Creatures**  
At this cozy corner just North of the entrance to the Jurassic Sub, you can check out some of the creatures that combed the prehistoric coasts in search of food. From toothy diving birds to flat-lipped sea reptiles, each one of these creatures is just as happy in the water as they are on land – in fact, probably happier for many of them. Watch as these marvelous marine creatures drift elegantly through the waves, dancing and spinning behind glass in the underwater viewing areas.

 **NOTE** : Dropping litter or food into the enclosure is strictly prohibited, as it presents a potential health hazard to our animals **. Anyone caught littering or feeding dinosaurs unauthorized food will be subject to a $250 fine.**

Species featured:

\- _Tanystropheus_

\- _Cartorhynchus_

\- _Nothosaurus_

\- _Henodus_

\- _Hesperornis_

 **Jurassic Submersible  
** Prepare for one of Jurassic World's most harrowing adventures! Dive below the surface and enter the domain of some of the largest creatures in the park. Within the safety our Jurassic Submersible, you will watch as our marine reptiles fly gracefully through the water. Automatic food dispensers mounted on the outside of the sub provide the opportunity for the most epic pics! Journeying in the Jurassic Sub also gives you the chance to watch one of our world-famous _Mosasaurus_ Feeding Shows center stage!

 **Note** : Guests with heart problems and high blood pressure should consult with their physician before riding this attraction. **Guests who suffer from claustrophobia (fear of small spaces) would be well-advised to avoid this attraction**.

Species featured.

\- _Mosasaurus_

\- _Kronosaurus_

\- _Elasmosaurus_

\- _Opthalmosaurus_

 **Aviary  
** A fan favorite of many of our visitors, our aviary is unique in all the world. Ironically, it is the only aviary in the world that doesn't house any dinosaurs. Instead of being home to the small feathery theropod dinosaurs known to most people as 'birds' our aviary houses a far more exotic collection of flying wonders: the pterosaurs!

Not true dinosaurs, but rather close dinosaur cousins, pterosaurs were the first vertebrates ever to fly. Watch them soar overhead, casting their shadows against the rocky sides of the Western Mountains. Our enclosed viewing area ensures that they won't swoop off with one of your little ones! Here in Jurassic World, a few choice pterosaurs have been resurrected, including the largest animals ever to fly – the 40 foot _Quetzalcoatlus_. In addition, our pterosaur aviary also features the strange, bristle-toothed _Pterodaustro_ , as well as the mysterious flesh-eating _Piranhopteryx_ , a creature not yet known from the fossil record!

 **Note** : Guests with acrophobia (fear of heights) would be advised against viewing this attraction.

Species Featured:

\- _Pteranodon_

\- _Pterodaustro_

\- _Dimrophodon_

\- _Thalassodromeus_

\- _Quetzalcoatlus_

\- _Piranhapteryx_

\- _Cearadactylus_

 **Carnivore Corner  
** Claws, jaws, and monstrous maws! The most successful group of dinosaurs, the theropods were the top predators on planet earth for over 160 million years. These two-legged meat-eaters came in all shapes and sizes. At Carnivore Corner, you can see just a glimpse of the astonishing diversity of predatory dinosaurs that once lived all over the world. This two story, football-stadium-sized indoor enclosure promises up close looks at all of our prehistoric predators, from the chicken-sized _Compsognathus_ to the 20 foot _Carnotaurus_. You will also learn how this group of dinosaurs eventually gave rise to birds. Interactive exhibits compare birds to earlier theropods, highlighting all of the unique features that they share.

Species Featured:

\- _Carnotaurus_

\- _Ornitholestes_

\- _Ceratosaurus_

\- _Masiakasauurs_

\- _Metriacanthosaurus_

\- _Compsognathus_

\- _Procompsognathus_

\- _Segisaurus_

\- _Proceratosaurus_

\- _Herrerasaurus_

\- _Concavenator_

\- _Cryolophosaurus_

\- _Gigantoraptor_

 **Gentle Giants Petting Zoo  
** All big things start out small. Even giant dinosaurs come from eggs no bigger than a grapefruit. After hatching at the Hammond Creation Lab, our baby dinosaurs are moved to Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, so you can get a close personal encounter with them before they are integrated into our free-roaming herds. Here, you can pet, feed, and even ride the young dinosaurs! A favorite among smaller children, the young _Triceratops_ ride make for some of the best family photo ops.

In addition to young giants, Gentle Giants Petting Zoo is also home to a pair of smaller dinosaur species, each one no bigger than a turkey. _Microceratus_ and _Kulindadromeus_ are by far Jurassic World's most adorable residents. Many guests have expressed the desire to own one as a pet, but watch out: they may look cute, but they can be feisty!

 **Note** : The species featured at this attraction will vary depending on the population concerns of our dinosaurs. As such, the species seen at this attraction will change from day to day.

When interacting with the dinosaurs, remember to show proper respect. Do not tease, taunt, or harass the animals in any way. **Failure to comply may result in expulsion from the park.**

 **Gentle Giants Petting Zoo is the ONLY attraction where guests are allowed to feed the dinosaurs**. Young dinosaurs may be fed cubes of Jurassic World patented Baby Dino Food, which can be purchased at food dispensers for $5 per cube. Dropping litter or unauthorized food into the enclosure is strictly prohibited, as it presents a potential health hazard to our animals **. Anyone caught littering or feeding dinosaurs unauthorized food will be subject to a $250 fine.**

Species Featured:

\- Various young herbivores

\- _Kulindadromeus_

\- _Microceratus_

 **Hall of Creepy Critters  
** Dinosaurs weren't the only creatures of the Jurassic. The world of the dinosaurs was home to a variety of strange and spectacular animals. Here we salute the Mesozoic Era's smaller inhabitants. What these animals lack in size they more than make up for in strangeness. From giant frogs to leg-winged gliders, you will barely believe your eyes when you encounter our incredible creepers for the first time. But hard as it may be to believe – each and every one of these creatures is a real animal that once lived on our planet, and not an accident from the Hammond Creation Lab!

Species Featured:

\- _Thrinaxodon_

\- _Effigia_

\- _Sharovipteryx_

\- _Aetosaurus_

\- _Yi_

\- _Koolosuchus_

\- _Epidexypteryx_

\- _Beelzebufo_

\- _Longisquama_

\- _Volaticotherium_

 **Pachy Arena  
** Meet Jurassic World's biggest butt-heads! These strange, thick-skulled dinosaurs are called _Pachycephalosaurus_. At the Pachy Arena our expertly-trained animal handlers will demonstrate how these strange herbivores use their elaborate head gear to intimidate and batter rivals into submission. Pachy Arena shows are scheduled 5 times daily - 10:00, 12:00, 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00.

 **Note** : Our _Pachycephalosaurus_ have been known to act aggressively when exposed to bright shades of red. Any guests wearing red clothing will need to either remove it or cover it up. Green ponchos will be provided free for guests who cannot otherwise cover up their red clothing.

Flash photography is prohibited at this attraction as it can be distracting for the animals.

Dropping litter or food into the enclosure is strictly prohibited, as it presents a potential health hazard to our animals **. Anyone caught littering or feeding dinosaurs unauthorized food will be subject to a $250 fine.**

Species Featured:

\- _Pachycephalosaurus_

 **Additional Attractions**

 **Golf Course  
** Fore! Tee off at our world-championship Jurassic golf course, located South of the hotel complex near the ferry landing. Play across 18 holes of lavishly landscaped green spread over 250 acres of land, dotted with formidable sand traps and water hazards. Take note of our patented Jurassic World Stegoskin grass, the product of our paleo-horticulturists. Feeling rusty? Stretch your golf muscles at our numerous practice greens, and feel free to try out our rental equipment should you forget yours at home. Navigate the driving range in one of our golf carts, only $10 for one day's use!

Visit the clubhouse for information on renting equipment. **Caddies required**.

 **Tethys Water Park  
** Don't let the heat get to you – cool off in our expansive water park. Named after an ancient sea way that once connected Asia with the Atlantic Ocean, Tethys Water Park offers a variety of wet and wild attractions, including wave pools, lazy rivers, water slides, wade pools, sprinklers, and splash pads. Plunge down our Pteranodon water slide at over 55 miles per hour. Or if you're looking for something more relaxing, climb inside a tube and cruise down our Tethys lazy river at a top speed of 2 mph. Stronger swimmers can opt for our Panthalassa wave pool. Afraid to get wet? Feel free to just lounge by the pool side and soak up some rays. Remember to bring the sunscreen!

Life guards on duty at all time.

 **Bamboo Forest**  
Get away from the roars and thrills, and enjoy a quiet self-guided nature walk in our extensive bamboo forest. Shady boardwalks ensure an easy trek for hikers of all experience levels. Listen carefully for the calls of Isla Nublar's native birds, frogs, and insects.

 **Bamboo Forest closes at 9 PM**

 **Botanical Gardens  
** It's not all about the animals. Thanks to new techniques in genetic retro-engineering, our paleo-horticulturists have brought back hundreds of species of extinct flora unlike anything seen on earth. Gaze in wonder at exotic ferns, horsetails, cycads, and conifer trees, as well as some of the first flowers on earth. Be wary though – pretty plants can be poisonous!

 **Note** : **Picking plants is strictly prohibited**. Please leave them where they are for all guests to enjoy.

 **Samsung Innovation Center  
** (Presented by Samsung) **  
**Our newly renovated Innovation Center is where technology meets prehistory. Here, you will see how science is working to restore the past for future generations to explore and marvel at. Over 100 Interactive exhibits offer hands on opportunities to dive headfirst into the new Age of Prehistory, right here in Jurassic World. Search for fossils in our dino-dig-pit, or check out our Holoscape, which displays life-sized holograms of all our park's animals. Make sure to stop by for a chance to meet Jurassic World's favorite friend – the Double Helix Dude – Mr. DNA! Mr. DNA is available to meet you and your family at 12.00, 4:00 and 8:00 daily, so don't miss out!

The Innovation Center is also home to the **Hammond Creation Lab**. Named after the father of De-extinction, Dr. John Parker Hammond, the Hammond Creation Lab is where Jurassic World begins and ends. Here you can catch a glimpse of our tireless, hard-working geneticists as they conduct new research, and apply their advanced knowledge to the creation of all new dinosaurs. If you're very lucky, you may be able to witness the hatching of a whole new generation of dinosaurs!

 **IMAX Theater  
** The world's biggest animals deserve the world's biggest theater experience. Located next to the Innovation Center, our state of the art screens and crystal clear sound systems ensure a prehistoric experience like no other! Bigger than an Apatosaurus and louder than a T. rex, you'll feel as if you've traveled back in time, and see your favorite dinosaurs in a whole new way! Don't forget to pick up some popcorn or a piping hot dino-dog at the concession stand!

Films currently showing:

\- _Pterosauria: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs_

\- _Raptors: the Nastiest Dinosaurs_

\- _Extreme Dinosaurs: Pushing the Limits of Nature._

 **See for show times.**

 **Jurassic Thrill Zone  
** Get ready for the most extreme thrill ride of your life? The biggest coasters, the fastest rides, and the most fun games on the planet! Do you dare to ride the Asteroid? At 580 feet at its highest point, and 320 mph, this is powerful roller coaster on planet earth! On the less daring end of the spectrum are our ever popular Egg Spinner, and the _Pteranodon_ Flyers. Just try to keep your lunch down after riding these rides! Those looking for something other than an adrenaline rush can opt for one of over 100 different games, from whack-a-saur to palaeo-pair-up! There's something for guests of all ages here at the World's Greatest Theme Park!

 **Origins Night Club  
** When the sun goes down, a different sort of species comes out to play! A special treat for more mature guests, Origins Night Club is the most happening place on Isla Nublar! DJ, Kid Business, has been waiting 65 million years to let that beat drop! From the bar to the dance floor, there's no shortage of good times to be had at Origins Night Club. For an extra fee, you can join the VIP club, where the elite from all over the world enjoy the best luxury treatment money can buy! When the kids are off to bed, join the nocturnal experience that is Orgins!

 **Guests must be 21 years of age or older to be admitted.**

 **Main Street  
** Welcome to the very heart of Jurassic World! Located at the center of the island, within walking distance of every prehistoric animal on earth, is the epicenter of dining and shopping on Isla Nublar. With over 100 shops and restaurants, including well-known and well-loved brands, as well as some Jurassic Originals, you're sure to find something to satisfy your appetite, quench your thirst, or make your day! Catch the game at Dave and Busters! Grab a cappuccino at Starbucks! Or try some of the exquisite cuisine at Winston's Steak House! Be sure to pick up a souvenir from Jurassic Traders to remember your Isla Nublar for years to come!

 **Gondola Lift  
** Get a pterosaur's-eye-view of Isla Nublar from our gondola lift! Reaching up to the highest mountain peaks, you can see sights of the island unlike anything you've ever experienced!

 **Note:** Guests with acrophobia (fear of heights) would be well advised to avoid this attraction.


	26. Chapter 24 - Arrival

_A miniature puppet of a Ceratosaurus stands upright, back sticking straight up, with its tail dragging behind it. Mouth agape, silently roaring at its foe, it stands poised for attack in front of a Triceratops. The quadruped stands with its three-horned-face tilted to one side, almost inquisitively. It too drags its tail behind it. Both saurian stand on a miniature primordial set, a dressed up painting acting as their backdrop._

All Grey can think to himself on seeing the image is that Triceratops and Ceratosaurus were separated in time by about 85 million years. He can tolerate the infeasible postures and the dragging tails – they didn't know better back then. But it must have been known even then that there was no way that a Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous dinosaur could never have met in real life. Sighing, Grey moves on to the next slide.

 _A close up of two Ceratosaurus, one biting the others neck._

This one is much less offensive, although the close up highlights to artificial look of the puppets. Still, there's no denying that Ceratosaurus probably did fight each other like this on occasion.

"Grey!"

A muffled voice calls out from behind his bedroom door. She knocks four times before coming into his room. "Grey, sweety, time to go. What is this?" she says, taking the view master gently from his hands. "Come on, we have to get going or we're going to be late!"

Grey doesn't mind having the small toy being taken from him. He was just killing time, waiting for the moment when it was time to leave. He turns around in his chair, looking at his room. Compared to a typical eleven-year-old boy, it is surprisingly clean. The clothes are all well put away, save some articles of dirty laundry sitting in a basket. The room is well-kept, but very cluttered. Most of the clutter is made of books and plastic dinosaur figurines, arranged in rows along shelves stacked one after the other. The higher-quality, scientifically accurate models are kept on a shelf above the poorly made knock offs below. Various posters line the wall, most of them about prehistoric animals, though there is one about spiders and another about the solar system. His bed is all made, with a single suitcase sitting on top.

"Dane County Airport is 36 minutes away, 60 with traffic," Gray says, in a matter of fact voice.

"How many minutes to get your little butt in the van?" she asks playfully. "Huh? How many of those?" She reaches out and ruffles his long brown hair softly.

Grey smiles and gets up from his seat, quickly grabbing his suitcase, as well as one of the books from his bookcase – _Dinosaurs: the Most Complete and Up-To-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of all Ages_. This is his favorite dinosaur book, and he brings it hoping it will help kill some time on the flight to Juan Santamaria in Costa Rica. He's already read it several times before, but the artwork is very appealing to look at, and the writing is very entertaining.

Hustling down the stairs and out the door, Grey passes his brother, standing in the snow with his girlfriend.

"Oh, what am I ever going to do without you Zachy?" she says with a sickening giggle. "What if I die of a heart attack while you're gone? Or what if you get appendicitis? What if you meet another girl down there? Oh, what if I forget what you look like? You'll remember to send pics right? And text me everyday?"

Zach honestly can't tell if she's joking or not. He simply resigns himself to saying, "You know, I'm only going to be one a week…"

"Zach," Scott calls from the driver's seat of the family minivan, "We're not going off to war here, come on."

"Alright," Zach says. "I-"

"I love you!" she says, hoping to finish his sentence.

Her hopes fade when he finishes. "-will see you later." She keeps her smile as Zach climbs inside the side of the van, sitting next to his younger brother.

Both parents turn in their seats to look back at their son. "I know it hurts, sweetheart," Karen says in a sympathetic voice.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Scot says, pursing his lips.

Zach rolls his eyes, turning his eyes to stare out the window and blocking out the outside world with his headphones. Grey smiles.

36 minutes later, the family of four is standing in the airport terminal, the two parents preparing to send their two sons off goodbye. Zach and Grey are dressed in only light sweatshirts, compared to the thick winter gear worn by most of the other people in the airport, including their parents. Just above the din of passengers hustling to their planes, they can hear the tune of leftover holiday music playing in the background, even though Christmas was over yesterday.

Karen hands the tickets to Grey. "Everything look right on there?" she asks him. Grey looks at the tickets, checking all the information to make sure that everything is alright, and nothing will stop them from boarding the plane. He's already done this several times back home, but it never hurts to know that everything is going as planned. "I'm so jealous," Karen says. "You're gonna have so much fun! I love you!"

"I love you too," Grey says.

Karen takes him into a big hug. Once Grey can't see her face anymore, the smile fades and she tightens her cheeks to keep the tears from flowing forward. The hug lasts for half a minute before they pull away from each other. Regaining her composure, Karen says, "Right. Alright, Um….okay, let's give these to your brother, okay?" Grey gives her the tickets and she passes them to Zach. "Can you hold these please?" Zach, still lost in his headphones and staring off at something across the terminal, doesn't respond. Karen tries again to get his attention, "Can you hold these? Honey, I need you to take care of these." She pokes him lightly, finally getting his attention.

Zach hasn't heard anything his mother says, but when he turns back to her, he sees her handing the tickets toward him, so he blankly says, "Yeah," and puts them in his pocket.

Before he can go back to not paying attention to anything, his father says, "Hey," regaining his attention. "Listen to your mother." Zach doesn't say anything, but doesn't shut himself off completely.

Karen continues. "Take care of your brother. Answer your phone – and I mean it. It's the green button. When you see my face, push it," she says in a tired voice. "And remember: if something chases you – run!" she whispers the last word, causing Grey's nervous smile to fault for a moment. "Come on!" she says, her voice returning to normal.

"Yeah….funny. Real funny," Zach says, wishing he could groan. "Okay, let's go," he says tugging on Grey's elbow.

Waving their final goodbyes, the boys cross the threshold and head off toward their gate. Scott says to Karen, "So much for our last family breakfast."

The smile Karen had tried very hard to maintain for the boys droops. "Why do you have to say things like that?"

"Did you call your sister?"

"Straight to voicemail," Karen says in a most unimpressed voice.

Scott shrugs it off. "It'll be fine. She handles 20,000 people a day. She can handle two more, right?"

Several hundred miles, 8 hours, two transfers, and 5 terrible movies later, Zach and Grey make it to Juan Santamaria with not so much as a few popped ears. Zach slept for most of it, when he wasn't flirting with the flight attendants. Grey had been mostly enraptured with his book, though he did also do a little doodling in his sketchbook. They both had stowed their sweatshirts away in their backpacks at their transfer in Mexico, and things only got hotter when they make it to Costa Rica.

The pamphlet their aunt had sent them had instructions to look for a shuttle at the main entrance that will take them to the ferry landing. It isn't too hard to find since so many other people – in fact, practically everyone on the flight – heads to the exact same spot. A quick trip on the shuttle brings them to the dock where the luxury speed ferry sits anchored and waiting to take all of the eager passengers to their final destination.

When Grey first sees the ferry, a sudden jolt of excitement shoots through his entire body. A wide, goofy smile spreads over his face. Up until this point, this trip was something that lied ahead, something to wait for. But actually seeing the ferry, and standing in line waiting to board, brought the experience to life. It was here. It was now. The gleaming, pure white boat hull was emblazoned with the words Isla Nublar Ferry in blue letters on the bow. On the walls of the upper deck was the circle, the blue silhouette of a Tyrannosaurus skeleton baring its teeth and claws to the right. It is finally happening.

Heading up the walkway toward the boat, Grey's excitement and curiosity get the better of him. "How big is the island?" he asks Zach.

"Big," Zach grunts.

"But how many pounds?" Grey asks.

Used to these sorts of questions, Zach simply says, "Doesn't make any sense." Of course, it's a perfectly sensible question, Zach just doesn't know the answer.

"How many species were there when were there?" Grety asks.

"I don't know," Zach says.

"When they first opened, they had 8 species, now the park has 71 different species of extinct animal. That's, like, 400 tons of food a week!" Grey says, but when he looks at his brother, he sees that he's already begun chatting up a pixie-cut redhead sitting next to them. Feeling slighted, Grey focuses instead on the blue horizon stretching on forever.

The trip on the ferry is about an hour and a half long, though that feels like nothing to Zach and Grey after their airborne excursion. At least on the boat they have the freedom to stretch their legs and move about. A little after 10 in the morning, Grey sees something poking above the horizon – the slimmest of dark slivers rising over the sea. He stands up and races toward the bow, Zach reluctantly following behind him. Leaning over the edge, Grey sees the dark streak grow taller and taller, until the jagged shape of the forest-covered mountains stands tall and proud over the Pacific.

The minutes that tick by as the Ferry makes its slow approach toward the dock cause Grey to shake the railing vigorously. He makes sure that he and Zach are right up front in order to be some of the first off the boat. His planning pays off as they step foot onto the wooden dock, looking down at the various sign posts all spelling out the phrase, "Welcome to Isla Nublar," in every major language in the world; English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic as just a few. In addition, a warm female voice echoes over loudspeakers attached to the posts. "Welcome to Isla Nublar, home of Jurassic World! We hope you enjoy your adventure here," she says, before the voice changes and the same message plays in Spanish.

As Grey and Zach move further along the dock, they keep an eye out for the fiery red hair which most easily distinguishes their aunt Claire. As far as they know, she's supposed to be picking them up here. There's no sign of her. But as they keep moving, they do see something of interest – a young woman with dark hair and sun glasses holding a sign that reads, "Zach and Grey Mitchell."

The brothers exchange confused looks. Zach says, "O-kaaay." Not knowing what else to do, they approach the woman.

As they get closer, her focuses turns on them. "Zach and Grey?" she asks, betraying her English accent. They nod. "Okay, uh…well, my name is Zara. I'm your aunt's personal assistant. She's asked me to look after you."

"You mean, we're not going to see Aunt Claire?" Grey asks in an almost heart-broken voice.

"Oh no, no, of course not. She's just very very busy today, that's all. She's arranged to meet you at 1'O clock which gives us enough time to get you settled into your room at the resort. Then we'll meet her at the Innovation Center, before I take you off to explore the park. That sounds good, right?"

Grey looks to Zach, whose blank expression does nothing to comfort him. After thinking for a moment, he says, "Yeah….yeah, that's cool."

"Great!" Zara says. "Well then, let's head off, shall we?" she says, gesturing overhead. That's when they see the track running all along the outer edge of the island, heading inland. An escalator just up ahead brings guests upward toward a platform. On the track next to the platform sits a glistening silver monorail. Even standing still, it looks expertly built for speed, eager to take off and race around the island.

Once onboard, the monorail proves itself as the fastest train either sibling has ever been on. Leaving the ferry landing behind, it journeys Northwest into the interior of the island. Out the ride side, it passes by a gigantic golf course, which isn't nearly as interesting to Grey as the vistas on the left side. The jungle canopy extends before them like the surface of a deep green ocean, taller specimens rising like waves. The tree line extends all the way to the edge of the sea. Looking at it, Grey feels something growing in his gut; a sensation. A feeling that they really have left the world he knew behind, and traveled to someplace bigger. Older. Something beyond all human memory. His imagination races. Just what lurked beneath the shadow of those primordial trees? What sort of creatures was he set to encounter on this island? Grey's excitement grew as it mixed with something else – just the faintest hint of fear.

But the feeling starts to wain as the monorail quickly approaches a towering resort, the Hilton Isla Nublar. The grand center piece of an entire hotel complex, the Hilton stands bloated and sprawling – a tribute to unnecessary luxury. Surrounded by swimming like a moat around a medieval castle, the walls are lined with dark windows and balconies. Lesser hotels sprout up next to it like an outer layer of battlements. Though the resort is far bigger than any trees from the jungle, the spectacle feels hollow to Grey in comparison – bigger, though not necessarily better.

The monorail lets everyone off, and Zara leads Zach and Grey inside to confirm their reservations and drop off their luggage. Once the boys have their key cards, Zara rushes them along. "Okay guys, let's go. Gotta make sure we're at the Innovation Center by one."

And so, without even seeing their room, they all get onto the next incoming monorail and zoom farther inland toward the park. After passing by what looks like a traditional amusement park, filled with rollercoasters and other types of rides, a male voice comes on over the loudspeakers. "Okay folks, this is your conductor speaking. Coming up ahead here, you'll see our park gates, built with wood reclaimed from the original park over 20 years ago!"

Hearing that, Grey gets up out of his seat and heads toward the front car. Zara calls out after him, "Wait, Grey-"

But Zach shakes his head. "It's best to just let him go. He always finds his way back."

Getting as far out in front as he can, Grey strains his eyes for the sight of the aforementioned gate. Turning round a corner, the monorail comes to face the gate head on. Standing tall and proud over the tracks is a massive wooden gate – doors slowly swinging open as the train approaches. Steel frames on either side house flaming orange torches that blaze brilliantly even in the afternoon sun. The wooden doors look positively ancient. At the very top, spanning the space between each door is a sign, forged from steel and shimmering bright blue, "Jurassic World."

Passing through the gate gave Grey his first view of this place that he had seen only in photos and Youtube videos, and heard of only through stories passed on by kids at school. The one place, more than any other in the world, that he desperately wanted to go. And there it is, just up ahead. To the West, nestled comfortably in the mountains, is the enormous dome of the Jurassic World aviary, a brilliant sheen streaking across its surface. To the East is the gigantic indoor enclosure that Grey knew to be Carnivore Corner, home to most of the park's predators. Directly ahead were three expansive lagoons filled with tropical azure waters. Grey swears he can already see the shadowy shapes swimming just beneath the surface. Running North after the pools is Main St. where all of the best restaurants and shops were. Grey hopes he'll be taking home at least one new figure for his collection. Main St. leads directly to the high triangular room of the Innovation Center, the very heart of the entire park. Scattered around the Innovation center are yet more animal attractions, including the greatest of all – _T. rex_ Kingdom. And from this epicenter, spanning the rest of the island – save the nature preserve in the far North – are wild, untamed habitats teeming with an incredible variety of unique creatures unlike anything else on earth.

The sign above the gate didn't lie. This is Jurassic World.

The monorail drops them off at a station directly next to the Innovation Center. Zara tries to take the lead, but Grey bolts in front of her. Struggling to keep up in her heels, she says to Zach, "Can he slow down?"

"Nope," he says, rather disinterestedly.

At the top of the steps leading into the Innovation Center, Grey turns back to the, jumping up and down and saying, "Come on, guys, come on! It's right here!"

"Dude!" Zach says to him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Zach says, "You need to calm down, okay?" Zach is worried about how worked up his brother is already. He can only imagine how much it will skyrocket once they get inside.

"I can't help it!" Grey says, squirming under Zach's hand. "We're finally here! We're in freaking Jurassic World!" Grey uses the opportunity to use a word that his mother would probably have scolded him for, but which Zach couldn't care less.

"I know, okay?" Zach says, impatiently. "But if you can't calm down then you could get into trouble. You don't want Aunt Claire to yell at you, do you?"

Grey stops bouncing immediately. "No," he says.

"Okay then," Zach says. "Just…take a deep breath, right? Like your exercises?"

"I know," Grey says, knowing full well his own exercises. He stands as still as he can and takes in a deep breath through his nose, letting it out through his mouth. He does this four more times before saying, "Okay. I'm ready."

"Okay," Zach says.

Together, they push against the tall faux-stone doors, the engraving of a _Pteranodon_ skeleton hanging over the threshold, just below the sign that reads Samsung Innovation Center. The room they step inside of has a high, dome-shaped ceiling made of glass, through which the rays of the afternoon sun pour through, bathing the center in natural light. There are so many things going on at once, Grey doesn't know which one to look at first. By far the most spectacular is the holoscape in the center. Kids gather around it, taking turns to display life-sized holograms of all the park's creatures. Surrounding that, Grey sees kids hard at work, learning and playing at the same time. To one corner, a group of kids work diligently with brushes to uncover the artificial remains of a fossil dig pit, toothbrushes pushing away the dust to uncover a curved claw. More kids sit around screens, captivated as they witness a recreation of the cataclysm that wiped out many of the park's inhabitants, paving the way for their eventual recreation in Jurassic World. A holographic globe pinpoints the locations on the earth where each and every one of the park's residents lived during their time on earth. Standing by the hall leading to the Creation Lab is a bronze statue of an elderly man, standing proudly with a can in hand. He looks something like a cross between Santa Clause and business tycoon.

Trying hard not to be overwhelmed by everything, Grey looks to the nearest kiosk that doesn't have anyone else standing by it. Racing over to it, he sees the heading 'DNA.' Looking at the touch screen, he realizes pretty quickly that he has to assemble a working DNA molecule. No problem.

"Cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, same four things in everything that ever lived!" he says, touching each piece on the screen. Upon proper assembly, the pieces come together to form a multicolored, anthropomorphized DNA molecule with two wide eyes and toothy smile, who offers his congratulations to Grey.

"Grey?" a voice calls out from behind.

At first he thinks it's just Zara. But turning around, he pinpoints the voice coming from a spiraling stair case not too far away. "Aunt Claire!" he says, seeing the tall thin figure, dressed entirely in white and topped with short, red hair. Claire is still on her cellphone at this point, and only manages to get off when she reaches the bottom of the stairs.

Without a second thought, Grey runs over and embraces his Aunt in a tight hug around her waist. Caught completely off guard, Claire laughs a little. "Oh! Oh, oh my gosh, you're so sweet!" she says, placing one arm around his back. Zach approaches with Zara, and upon seeing him, Claire goes, "Whoa, Zach! Last time I saw you, you were like-" and she reaches down with her right hand to indicate height. "That was like, what, three, four years ago?"

"Uh, seven," Zach says, nonplussed. "Seven years, but, you know, close."

Pushing past the awkwardness, Claire reaches into a pocket in her blouse and pulls out two blue wristbands. "So, before you guys go anywhere else, these are your Jurassic World wristbands. These ones are specially equipped for you, they give you direct access to the front of any line, so you don't have to wait around." She hands them the wrist bands, which they immediately strap on to their wrists. "And this is for food," she says, handing Zach an envelope with their names scribbled on front. "And of course, Zara here is going to take great care of you. She's an excellent worker, she's great with kids, she of course knows how utterly and eternally grateful I am for what she's doing for me today!" Claire says giving a wide, toothy grin to Zara

Zara's initial response is to say _Well, she certainly doesn't have anything better to do with her last days on this goddamn island!_ But instead, she simply says, "Of course."

"Right, so she's going to look after you until I get off tonight, okay?" Claire says.

"How come you can't come with us?" Grey asks, half curious, half sad.

"Oh Grey, I-I really wish I could. But, this is just really…it's just, it's a bad day, I'm busy all day, there's this big operation going down today, I have to oversee it, and…it's just a mess, really. But!" she says, trying to turn things around, "tomorrow, I can take you guys into the control room! You know, give you a behind the scenes look, all that stuff. That's…that's cool, right?" Before they can answer, her phone chimes in with a text. "Okay, so, um….I will see you tonight, after work, at 6-"

"No, no, don't forget you have the-" Zara interjects.

"Oh right, yes, I will actually see you at 8. What time do you go to sleep? Or, no you go to sleep at different times…probably…." She trails off just as the phone chimes again. "Okay, so…have fun! And take very good care of them, okay?" Claire says, putting her phone up to her ear again. "This is Claire," she says before turning away, passing through a holographic _Parasaurolophus_ before heading back up the spiral staircase.

Staring at Claire as she leaves them behind, Zara sighs. "That's Claire for you. Always somewhere else to be and someone else to talk to." Looking at the boys, Zach doesn't seem to care very much, but Grey looks genuinely upset. Giving him a smile, she says, "Oh don't worry! You'll have plenty of time to see Claire this week! In the meantime, let's go check out some dinosaurs, yeah?!"

Grey instantly lights up again.


	27. Chapter 25 - A Brief Demonstration

Stepping into the control room, Claire enjoys the relative quiet compared to the cacophony of the Innovation Center. The constant radio chatter and service calls can't compare with the noise of a hundred screaming children. Striding across the room toward Vivian and Lowery, she asks, "Can I get a live count?"

"22, 216," Vivian responds.

"Any incidents so far today?" Claire asks.

"Yup, six kids in the lost and found, uh, 28 down with heat stroke, and some idiot tried to feed ice cream to a baby _Triceratops._ They've already been reprimanded, but….what?" Lowery says, stopping as he notices Claire staring blankly at his chest.

"Where did you get that?" she asks in a breathy voice.

"What?" Lowery asks, confused for a second. Then, finally realizing she's talking about his T-shirt, he says, "Oh this? I got it on Amazon. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I got it for $150, but the mint condition can go for $300, easy."

"Lowery!" Claire says, putting up her hands. "What were you thinking? Of all the days to wear that shirt! I mean, come on, is that-" she says, pointing to the original Jurassic Park logo, with its stark contrast of red and black, "really want I want to see today? Damnit, you know I've been having nightmares about this day for months, even more than when we were working on the aviary!"

A look of sudden embarrassment streaks across Lowery's face. "Oh…..uh, sorry, I didn't think…."

"Well, that much is obvious," Claire says. "Why did you wear that today anyway?"

"This," he says, pointing to his shirt, "Is my silent protest. Say whrat you will about that first park, but at least it tried to be legit! They didn't need any of these genetically engineered hybrids, they just needed dinosaurs, real dinosaurs!"

"Lowery," Claire says, rolling her eyes, "Every animal in that park was a genetic mutant, practically none of them looked like real dinosaurs!"

"Yeah, well…" Lowery says, struggling to come up with a response. "At least they tried!"

"So do we," Claire says. "And our efforts have paid off a lot more than theirs. Okay so we have one hybrid. That's one hybrid among over a hundred animals, most of which have nearly 100% genomic accuracy."

"Well….I still don't like it," Lowery says.

"I'm not asking you to like it," Claire says, "I'm asking you not to give me a heart attack on the day that we're moving this thing. And for god's sake, please don't let Mr. Masrani see you wearing that. And could you please clean up your work space? It's…chaotic."

Lowery looks back at his desk, three books standing in between monitors, and a line of small plastic dinosaur figures running along the ledge over his computers. "I prefer to think of it as a living system, straddling cautiously along the edge of chaos. Just enough stability to keep it from collapsing into anarchy." Just as he says this, he moves to adjust one of the figures. In the process, his elbow knocks over a bag of M&Ms, which scatter all over the floor. The entire room looks at him, including Claire, who gives him a sly glance. "…..I'll get the broom," he says.

Before she can crack another joke at this expense, Claire looks up at the map of the park, and sees a small red blip on the edge of _Gallimimus_ Valley. "That red thing, there, what is that?"

"Diablo, adolescent male," Vivian says, pulling up a feed from the spot. "Caught roaming outside his zone earlier, but he's fully sedated and ready for relocation."

Vivian's casual tone does not appease Claire. "That is the second time this month that the invisible fence system has failed."

"Well, the Diablo's damage their chips during combat. We're just going to have put them in places its harder to reach with their horns," Vivian says with a shrug.

"How much longer until they get it back into its enclosure?" Claire asks.

"He just got 5 milligrams of carfentanil," Vivian points out.

Then Lowery pipes up again. "Yes, he's more stoned than a blogger in Saudi Arabia. So let's try to show a little sympathy. I mean, you do realize that these are actual animals right."

Claire raises an eyebrow, "Don't you have candy to sweep up?" He says nothing, but goes back to the task at hand.

Claire hears a voice call out over the radio chatter. "Inbound chopper, Jurassic001. ETA five minutes."

"And that's my cue. Okay, so can I have everybody's attention please, just for a second?" she calls out to the room. Everyone takes a moment to stop what they're doing and focus their attention on Claire. "Okay, so this is the first time Simon Masrani has been to the park since 2005. I expect everyone to put your best foot forward, and show him why this park has been able to operate without a major incident in the last ten years. So…just do what you normally do, just try to do it a little better when he's around, alright?" There's a general hint of acceptance throughout the group.

Turning around and heading into the elevator, Claire goes up to the top floor – the roof. Stepping out of the elevator, she goes through a single door that brings her outside to the blinding white light of the sun high above, reflected sharply in the concrete. A white circle makes up the small landing pad on top of the Control room, just behind the Innovation Center. Giving her eyes just a moment to adjust, she shields them from the intense rays with her right hand. Squinting, she just barely makes out a dark speck growing ever so larger with each passing moment. Finally, the speck takes shape as a small helicopter approaches the landing platform.

The helicopter isn't large at all – only two seats in the cock pit, and a small cargo hold in back. What it lacks in size it makes up for in speed and elegance, gracefully swinging its long tail to the left as it prepares to touch down. The whirring blades begin to slow and quiet down. The blue chopper lands with a light thud, finally coming to a complete halt after a brief moment.

Claire cocks her head to one side as she sees Masrani himself step out of the pilot's side, dressed in a suave silver business suit and bright purple shirt. Another man accompanies him from the other side. As all three approach each other, Masrani holds his hand out to her. "Claire!" he says.

"Mr. Masrani!" Claire says excitedly. "You're….flying…"

Masrani shrugs. "I got my license!"

The man standing next to him holds up two fingers. "Two more."

Waving him off, Masrani says, "Eh, two more days." Then he turns to the man, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue Jurassic World wristband. "Okay, there you are, Anders. Have fun!"

"Thank you, Sir," Anders says before they all get back into the elevator.

Once inside, Masrani turns to Claire and says, "So – how's my park doing?"

"Great!" Claire says, smiling. "We're up two and half percent from last year. It's a bit lower than initially projected-"

But Masrani interjects. "No no no no, how's it doing! Are the guests having fun? Are the animals enjoying life?"

"Well, guest satisfaction is….you know, steady. Low 90s, right about. We don't really have of measuring the animals' emotional state-"

Once again, Masrani interrupts. "Sure you do. You can see it in their eyes, right?"

Humoring him, Claire nods. "Of course."

The elevator drops them off at the control room, while Anders continues downwards to explore the park. Looking all around the control room, Masrani sees everyone hard at work, all operations seemingly running smoothly. Looking around on her own, Claire doesn't see anything out of place. Lowery is back at his seat, and there's no sign of any loose pieces of candy anywhere around his desk. She quietly breathes a sigh of relief. "Good afternoon everyone!" Masrani calls out to everyone. Everyone turns to look at him, though nobody answers him verbally, most just smiling or looking interested. "So how is everybody doing today?" Everyone in the room is too nervous to answer directly. "Oh come on, no need to be shy! You there-" he says pointing to Lowery.

Lowery points to himself. "Uh, me?"

"Yes," Masrani says. "How are you doing today?"

"I, uh…I-I'm doing pretty well, I think," Lowery says with a shrug.

"You think?" Masrani says, walking up to him. "Well are you, or aren't you?"

Feeling even more unnerved, Lowery shakily nods his head and says, "I, I, yes, yes I am."

Masrani stares at him for a moment. "Why are you wearing your shirt inside out?"

Sliding to Lowery's rescue, Claire says. "Uh…oh, uh Lowery here just mixed up the date to our 'wear your clothes inside out' day!"

Turning to her, Masrani asks, "What?"

Thinking on the spot, Claire says, "Yes, every Monday, I like to have a little theme for everyone. You know, to help combat the Monday Blues, that sort of thing. Tomorrow's is wear your clothes inside out! Poor Lowery here must have gotten the days mixed up!"

Playing along, Lowery says, "Uh…OH yeah, yeah, you know, I…I do that all the time. Maybe one day I'll learn!" and he fakes a laugh.

"Why not just turn your shirt right side in then?" Masrani asks.

"Uh…..well, you know, I've just been so busy here, it's been nuts. I had this one guy try to feed ice cream to a _Triceratops-_ "

"You're too busy just to invert your shirt?" Masrani asks with a raised eyebrow.

Lowery freezes for a moment before nodding and saying very confidently. "Yes. As a matter of fact I am."

Masrani doesn't look like his exactly buying it, but he decides to shrug and turn back to Claire. "So this is where you keep track of everything? Keep the park running smoothly?"

"Sure is," Claire says.

"How many species do we have now?" Masrani asks.

"Vivian?" she asks.

Vivian check the logs and says, "71, Mr. Masrani."

Masrani gives one low whistle. "That's a lot of dinosaurs. And you haven't had a single incident in all of that time?"

"None involving guests," Claire says. "There have been a few minor incidents with staff, but none involving serious injuries…" as she speaks, she remembers one or two serious injuries but decides not to mention them.

"Very impressive," Masrani says with a nod.

Claire smiles to herself. Then, remembering something she wanted to mention to him, she grabs a folder from off of Vivian's desk. "Oh, one thing I did just briefly want to mention. Marketing though we could offset some of the costs of advertisement for the Indominus by selling-"

But Masrani waves her down. "Ah, enough about costs! That's what I have the board for. You know, John Hammond trusted me with his dying wish for these creatures, and not once did he mention profits. As he used to say – 'Spare no expense.'"

"I understand that," Claire says, "but the reality of operating a theme park, especially one of this scale-"

"Don't forget why we built this park, Claire. First and foremost, Jurassic World exists to remind us how very small we are, and how new. You can't put a price on that right?"

Giving up, Claire just says, "Right."

"Okay, now – show me my new dinosaur!" Masrani says, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Another quick trip down the elevator, and into Claire's company car, they head off onto the park service roads. "Now, before we head to the _Indominus_ holding pen, first we have to make a quick stop to pick someone up."

"Who?" Masrani asks.

"Mr. Owen Grady," Claire says with a hint of frustration.

"The raptor trainer?" Masrani asks. "Why are we picking him up?"

"He insisted on being there for the transfer," Claire says. "He was initially involved with the _Indominus_ in its early stages of development."

"Oh…" Masrani says. "Where is he now?"

"Where he practically always is," Claire says. "The raptor pen."

"Is that where we're going now?" Masrani asks excitedly.

"Yup," Claire says. "It's out of the way, but I thought you'd like the chance to see some of the progress we've made with the raptors."

"Excellent, excellent!" Masrani says.

* * *

Feeling the sweat pour down his brow, Owen collapses beside his motorcycle. Guzzling down half a bottle of water, he pours the rest of it down his face. Breathing in deep through his nose, he smells the faint salty scent of the sea air, the waves crashing against the nearby cliffs. The sun glaring down on him, he thanks himself for putting on sunscreen earlier. The paddock, a couple hundred feet away, is being cleaned by some of the new maintenance staff, allowing Barry and him the chance to take a quick break.

Barry, carrying a bottle of water and two bananas, takes a seat next to him. "Your favorite," he says, handing Owen one of the bananas.

"Thanks buddy," he says, starting to peel it.

"So what are you thinking?" Barry asks.

"To be perfectly honest," Owen says, "I'm thinking that they're just about ready."

"I was thinking the same thing," Barry says.

"You think you can handle them on your own?" Owen asks.

"I can," Barry says, "though I'd rather keep your ass around for when they have bad days."

Owen says. "I bet you would. But I think my work here at Jurassic World is just about done. I put in my time here…but I think it's time for me to get back to the real world."

Barry nods slowly. "Yeah…probably not a bad idea."

"Are you gonna stay?"

"I'm not sure yet," Barry says. "We've been especially lucky so far, considering. Any longer might be pushing our luck."

"It's gonna be hell saying goodbye though," Owen says.

"How do you say goodbye to a dinosaur?" Barry asks.

Owen shrugs. "I don't know. They're not exactly the most expressive animals in the world…but you know, when animals want to tell you something, I find that they always find a way to get it through to you. If you listen of course."

"We could always come back and visit," Barry points out.

"Maybe," Owen says. "As long as they'd let us in for free. Otherwise, there's no way I could afford to come back here."

"Either way," Barry says, "We have to figure out a next move."

"Hmm…..I think….I want to personally train a replacement. I'd really like there to be someone here who has the same kind of relationship with these animals that I have. They need to be able to trust someone…and more importantly, they need somebody worth trusting."

"That's going to take a while," Barry says.

"Sure will," Owen says. "But that just gives me time to come up with a proper good bye."

Before Barry can respond, a luxury sedan pulls up along the dirt road, coming to a stop right up next to them. When the door opens, Owen and Barry see Claire step out of the driver's seat, while a tall Indian man steps out of the driver's seat. At first they don't believe it, but after a few moments of skepticism, they come to recognize the shining face of Simon Masrani. He steps right up to them, and they instantly get back on their feet. "Gentlemen," he says, holding out a hand. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," Owen says, shaking his hand, Barry doing the same. "Is it time already?"

"Just about," Claire says. "But before we head on over, I was wondering if you might be able to do a demonstration for Mr. Masrani. Preferable something quick."

Shifting his eyes to Claire, he asks, "What sort of demonstration?"

"That's up to you," Claire says. "Again, though, something short if possible."

Owen looks to Barry, who doesn't seem to any more answers than he does. Finally shrugging, Owen says, "Well, it is just about lunch time. If you don't mind things getting a little gross, than we might just have something for you."

"Uh…" Claire says nervously. "I, uh…I think I'll just hang out by the car, if that's alright with everyone."

"How about you, Mr. Masrani, think you got the stomach for it?" Owen asks.

"Let's find out," Masrani says.

Leading him toward the dual-chambered pen, Owen and Barry check with the rest of the staff to make sure everything's all set. Thumbs up from all parties indicate that the demonstration is good to go. Approaching the bars to the paddock, Masrani peers inside. He doesn't see anything that he'd recognize as a dinosaur. Instead, he sees what looks like a falcon tall enough to look a man in the eye. Sandy brown and with blue stripes running vertically down its back, the giant bird has a jagged scar running across its eye. Lacking a beak, and with clawed fingers on its wings, it begins to appear less and less like a proper bird. It stares at Masrani with an unchanging scowl, a transparent membrane flickering over its eye every few seconds. It stands balanced on its long, firm, fan-tipped tail, and on two feet baring numerous, curved claws, the biggest of all being the over-sized sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot.

"Is that one of the raptors?" Masrani asks, pointing to the creature.

"Yes," Barry says. "That's Echo."

"Huh," Masrani says, almost disappointed. "It looks like a six foot turkey."

Barry shrugs. "That's what they look like."

"It doesn't exactly look very threatening," Masrani says, sounding unimpressed.

Giving him a look, Barry simply says, "Just wait."

Owen looks up to the workers on the catwalk. "All clear?" They all hold up their right hands with a thumbs up. "Okay. Release the bacon!"

Masrani looks confused for a second before a high pitched squealing sound fills his ears. A small pig bolts off into the adjacent chamber of the paddock, confusedly running up against the walls. Upon hearing the sound of the pig, Echo sinks into the foliage like a shark into the depths of the ocean. Masrani tries to keep track, but can't see any of the raptors inside. But though he can't see any of them, he can hear strange caws and snarls coming from inside that can only have been made by the raptors. Although the sounds recall those of animals alive in the modern world, the full effect was almost otherworldly. The calls came from all corners of the enclosure, surrounding the pig at every turn.

A pale turquoise raptor hops out from behind the pig, causing it to bolt frantically in the opposite direction. Before it can get fifteen feet away, another raptor leaps out from the side, landing directly on top of the pig. The pig's squeals increase in volume and terror as the claws of the feet start digging into the soft, pink flesh, already drawing trickles of blood. Standing over the pig, the raptor – dull gray with parallel blue stripes running down its back – spreads its wings out to its size, stabilizing it as the pig struggles underneath its foot. As the pig thrashes with all of its strength, the stronger dinosaur begins slashing with the sickle claws, creating deep, long gashes in the meat. Then, before the pig can even stop screeching, Blue reaches down and tears a jagged chunk of flesh out its flank. Throwing back her head, she allows gravity to pull the flesh down her throat and into her gut. That's when Masrani realized that, even as the claw dismembered the poor creature, the dinosaur was actually eating the pig alive.

Soon, the other three all come out of their hiding places, seeking a place at the meal. Blue snaps at them, reinforcing her status and forbidding them to eat until she's eaten her fill. Masrani watches with a churning stomach as the mammal is ripped apart piece by piece.

"So much for the six foot turkey," Barry says.

Swallowing uneasily, Masrani says, "They cooperate?"

Coming around to them, Owen nods. "They can coordinate their attacks."

"Did you train them to do that?"

Owen shakes his head. "Nope. We've trained them to do a lot of things. But that's something they figured out on their own."

"How close are they from being put on public display?" Masrani asks.

Owen exchanges looks with Barry before saying, "They're….they're getting there."

"Well…..good work then, gentlemen," Masrani says, forcing a smile and turning away from the carnage. "Now, let's head on over to our newest attraction."

Owen turns to Barry and says, "I'll see you later."

"Any idea when you'll be back?" Barry asks.

"No clue. Just keep on going with today's agenda. If something comes up, just put it on the sheet," Owen says as he follows Masrani back toward Claire, standing next to the car.


	28. Chapter 26 - Out with the Kids

Zara, Zach, and Grey stand to one side of the entrance into the Innovation Center. Their package meant that, in addition to their wrist bands, both boys also received a park map and blue Jurassic World flashlight. Grey has his map open, and tries to figure where he wants to go first. Zach and Zara stand at his side, trying to let him figure it out on his own.

 _Okay, so….the next Pachy Arena showing isn't for another 2 and half hours, so that gives us some time to kill until that…I really want to go to Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, but Zach's just going to call me a baby…Oh, there's the Hall of Creepy Critters. I'll definitely want to check that out….but is that what I want to do first? There's so much to see….Coastal Creatures maybe? Nah, I'll save that for when I'm over there anyway….there's the Jurassic Sub, but…I'll give that one a day or two to think about…_

"Dude, would you just pick something already?" Zach says, looking up from his phone only to snap at his brother.

"There's just so much to do!" Grey says. "I can't decide what I want to do first."

"Well," Zara says, taking a look at her watch. "Would you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"Sure," Grey says.

"It's 1:30 now," she says, "Which means that in about half an hour, the next _T. rex_ feeding will start. How about we grab an Ice Cream at Ben  & Jerry's, then head over to T. rex Kingdom."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh yes!" Grey says, bounding on his heels.

"Chill!" Zach says, putting a hand on Grey's shoulder.

"That's what I want to do first, that's what I want to do first," Grey says twice, just to hammer the point home.

"Fine, then let's go," Zach says as they head off down Main St.

Main Street is packed from side to side with rivers of tourists flowing both up and down the street. The edges are decorated with vibrant tropical plants, catching the afternoon sun in the luscious green and violet leaves. A number of festive structures adorn the sides of the street as well, such as a giant sculpture of a mosquito trapped in amber, and a life-sized Tyrannosaurus skull. Most spectacularly of all is the complete skeletal mount of a long-snouted, sail-backed _Spinosaurus_ , baring its claws by the entrance to _T. rex Kingdom_.

On either side of the street, shops and restaurants of every kind line the curving stretch of concrete. From Winston's Steakhouse on the North end to Margaritaville down South, the road is surrounded by souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, bars, diners, sushi places, fast food, coffee, and spas. Tourists sporting brightly colored vacation wear dart in and out from store to store, many coming out adorned with miscellaneous types of Jurassic World merchandise.

Making their way past the exuberant throngs, Zara, Zach, and Grey make their way to a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor about half way down the street. With the sun just beginning to move from its peak at noon, the shop is packed with people looking for an ice cold treat. Seeing the horde inside, Zara takes a moment to think. "Hmmm…alright, let's economize. Zach, why don't you get the ice cream, and I'll wait out here with Grey."

"Alright," Zach says, as disinterested as ever. "What kind of ice cream do you want?"

"Strawberry," Grey says without thinking.

"As if I had to ask," Zach says. "What about you?" he asks Zara.

"Oh, nothing for me thanks," Zara says.

"Okay," Zach says, taking a little of the money from the envelope their aunt gave him. He enters the shop with the ringing of a bell on top, leaving Grey and Zara in the shade of the building.

"So….you like strawberry ice cream?" Zara says, trying to start up some kind of conversation.

"I like strawberry everything," Grey says. "Strawberry ice cream, strawberry bubblegum, strawberry jolly ranchers."

"And strawberries of course," Zara says.

But Grey shakes his head. "No, I don't like actual strawberries. The only fruit I really like is bananas. And the only vegetable I like is carrots."

"Oh I love fruit," Zara says. "Every day I have a mixed fruit smoothie."

"I wish I liked fruit," Grey says. "And vegetables. Like, I know they're healthy for me. I want to eat right, but….ugh, why does broccoli have to taste like crap while bacon tastes like awesome?!" he says, seeming genuinely frustrated by the conundrum.

Zara giggles at his reaction. "Don't worry. A lot of stuff tastes awful when you're younger. As you get older, you'll find you like more things."

"See that's what people keep telling me, but…" and he shrugs. "I don't know. Has that ever happened to you?"

"You mean, was there anything that I used to hate as a kid, but when I grew up I liked it?" Zara asks, to which Grey nods. "Hmm….well, I suppose kippers aren't as gross as they were when I was eight."

"What are kippers?" Grey asks.

"They're a kind of fish, usually served at breakfast. They're mostly popular in England," Zara says.

"Oh that's right, you're English!" Grey says, pointing at her.

She laughs more. "Good of you to notice."

"How did you get here from England?" Grey asks.

"Well, the same way you did, I'd wager. Lots of hours on a plane followed by a ferry trip," she says with a shrug.

"No, but like….what made you decide to leave England in the first place?"

Zara, slightly taken aback by the question, takes a moment to put it into words. "Well…I left England when I was eighteen. I traveled to New York City to study dance."

"Like ballet?" Grey asks.

Zara shakes her head, "Not ballet. More jazz tap…if that makes any sense?"

"Nah, I get it," Grey says. "But then, how did you end up working at Jurassic World?"

Setting her back against the wall, Zara says, "Well….things don't always go as you plan. Even if you do everything in your power to make your dreams come true….well, sometimes life has other plans."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened," Zara says. "And then worse – it kept happening. I kept trying out, but I just never went anywhere. Then I found the job opening as an executive assistant for Masrani Global…although I didn't know what the position would be at the time. You can imagine my surprise."

"What made you want to take this job?" Grey asks.

Zara thinks back to when she first saw the job posting in New York. She decided to interview for no other reason than the pay and benefits promised by the ad. But when she went into that interview, and saw Claire for the first time, she knew she had to have this job. "Oh, what can I say," she says with a shrug. "There was just something about the job that…attracted me."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Grey says, nodding. "I mean, you can't pass up the chance to work at a place that has living dinosaurs."

"It does certainly make for interesting introductions," Zara says. "Although….want to know a secret?" she says in a quiet voice. Grey nods his head frantically, as if, if he doesn't learn this secret the world will implode in on itself. "I've actually never most of the dinosaurs in the park."

"WHAT?" Grey nearly shouts, starling Zara. "Why not?"

"Well, it gets very busy, working with your aunt. Anything she can't do falls to me. By the time the day is done, I just want to collapse on my bed."

"What about your days off?" Grey asks.

"Pfft, what days off?" Zara says jokingly. Seeing that Grey doesn't seem to get the entire joke, she says, "I don't get a lot of days off. And when I do, mostly just want to relax, you know? Go to the spa, maybe hang out by the pool. I don't really want to go running around a park filled with noisy people."

"Is that an old person thing?" Grey asks.

Zara actually bursts out laughing, putting her hands on her knees for a second. "Oh my god! Grey! You think I'm old?"

"Well, you're older than me," he says, as if it's self-evident.

"I…well, yes, you're right, but….I'm not that old," Zara says, still smiling.

"Well, compared to the things in this park, nobody here is really old," Grey says.

"Ah, good point," Zara says. She peeks inside the shop windows inside, trying to see where Zach is. "Where is he?"

"There," Grey says, pointing inside.

Following his finger, Zara sees Zach, very nearly to the front of the line, his back to the counter as he chats up a six foot blond girl about his age, if not slightly older. He looks as if he's forgotten that he was ever in line for anything. "Oh nice," Zara says, rolling her eyes. "How extraordinarily typical."

Grey smiles at her derision. "Zach is always talking with girls. It's stupid too, because he already has a girlfriend."

Zara looks down at Grey and says, "Oh no, he doesn't!" When Grey nods, she goes, "Oh my god..what a tool!" Grey starts giggling. It wasn't very often people took his side in the eternal struggle against his brother. "I mean….damnit, I know I'm not really supposed to take sides, but….god, what a tool!" she repeats.

"He does this whenever he's away from his girlfriend," Grey says.

"Why that little…." but Zara stops herself before she lets out any unsavory language. "Oh…oh never mind. Just best to let it go."

At the sound the last three words, Grey steps back from the window, throws out his arms and cries out, "Let it go! Let it go!" bursting into full-fledged song. But Zara just looks at him, delightedly confused. "Come on, you know, Let it Go?" When Zara still doesn't seem to understand. "From _Frozen_?"

Finally, Zara plants the palm of her hand to her face and says, "Ooooohhhh, right, right. Sorry, I haven't actually seen that movie."

"You haven't seen Frozen?" Grey asks, incredulously.

"I haven't seen any new movies," Zara says. "Even if I had the time, I'd have to go to the mainland, and God knows that's too much of a hassle just to see movie."

"Aww….I love Frozen! You should see it sometime!" Grey says.

"Isn't that a movie about…like, a magical princess?" Zara asks, slightly curious. Afraid she might have just given the wrong impression, she quickly adds, "Not that there's anything wrong with you liking it, mind, just-"

"No, I know what you mean. I get that a lot," Grey says, his voice lowering slightly. "My brother makes fun of me for it all the time."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," she says, shooting a dirty look at Zach, just one person away from the counter.

"I mean…..he's not….he's not that bad, not really," Grey says. "Or at least, he didn't always used to be. He used to be really cool. We used to do stuff together, lots of stuff. Like, play kickball, and collect pokemon cards….but then he just sort of….stopped."

"I'm guessing that was at about the same point he started getting really tall?" Zara says, raising an eyebrow.

"Just about," Grey says.

"Yup, that's puberty for you," Zara says.

"Yeah, I know. We started learning about it in school," Grey says.

"The one thing they don't teach you is how to keep from turning into a self-absorbed jerk."

"I just wish he wouldn't abandon me like he does," Grey says. "I miss him, the way he used to be."

"Yeah, well….happens to the best of people. One day they're all yours, the next…..it feels like they can barely find the time to look at you."

"Did your brother do that to you," Grey asks. "Or, a sister maybe."

"No, I'm an only child," Zara says. "But…it has happened before. Sometimes it can happen with friends. Close friends. Friends who mean everything to you."

"Oh….I'm sorry," Grey says.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. In fact….she's abandoned you just as much as she has me," Zara says the last line without thinking.

But Grey notices. "Wait, do you mean Aunt Claire?"

Zara curses herself inside. But, since her last day is coming up anyway, she decides to just go with it. "I…I, yes, actually. Your Aunt and I used to be friends. Very close friends, as a matter of fact," Zara says, thinking that she's being very cryptic.

But her attempt at subtlety fails utterly as Grey asks, "Wait, are you saying that you and Claire were girlfriends?"

Eyes going wide, Zara looks down at him with complete surprise. "I…I….that doesn't seem strange to you?"

"Not really, no," Grey says. "I mean, Mom told us that Aunt Claire likes girls and boys."

"Oh," Zara says, taking a moment to mentally congratulate Karen's parenting skills. "Well…well, yes, actually. Claire and I used to date for a few years a while back. But," and she kneels down, getting to his level. "It would be best if other people didn't know that. So this will just be our little secret, okay?" she says, whispering to Grey.

"Okay," Grey says, happy to be in on a secret.

"But anyway, it doesn't matter too much now," Zara says. "I've finally moved on. Met someone new, a man this time. We're going to get married."

"Oh cool! Good for you," Grey says. "But wait….is it someone from the park?"

Zara shakes her head. "No, I met him at a family Christmas party last year."

"So you're going to have to leave the island then," Grey says.

"That's right," Zara says. "In fact, my last day is January 1st, the day the new dinosaur goes up."

"Oh wow," Grey says, more surprised by this than anything else. "So….so then, I guess I'm probably not going to see you again after this trip," and he actually looked downhearted at this, his cheeks going slightly red as he looks away.

Genuinely flattered, Zara says to him. "I'm sorry, Grey. We probably won't have the chance to see each other gain after this week….but hey isn't that just more reason to have a great time now?"

"Yeah, that's true…" Grey says tentatively.

"And hey, you know what?" Zara says. "You never know – we may just get the chance to meet again. Trust me, far stranger things have happened in the history of the world."

"That certainly is true," Grey says, relating to the statement.

"Now, what is taking that douche so long?" Zara says, before adding," Oh whoops, I mean….well, you know what I mean."

"I won't tell, if you won't," Grey says happily.

Looking inside, she sees him, still chatting with the blond, only now holding two ice cream cones, one in each hand. They're already starting to drip down their cones. "Oh for God's sake," Zara says, banging on the window. "Let's go!" she calls out to him. Zach gets the message well enough and comes out, handing Grey's strawberry ice cream cone to him.

Even noticing the drips of ice cream on the cone, he still manages to give an unsarcastic, "Thanks."

"So, are we going or what?" Zach asks, with his phone already in his free hand.

"Uh," Zara says, checking his watch, "Oh shit, we have to go! The show starts in two minutes!"

Holding the map, Grey leads them farther down Main Street, around a corner where the Spinosaurus skeletal mount stands as an imposing guard at the entrance of an enormous gate. Across the gate posts, white letters centered with blue lines spell out the words _Tyrannosaurus Rex_ Kingdom. But even as they approach the open gate, dozens, if not hundreds, of ecstatic visitors pour into the exhibit, trying to push past each other in order to get a good seat.

"Oh shit," Zara whispers to herself.

"Oh no no no no no no no no!" Grey says, putting his hands on his head.

"Whatever, let's just get to the front of the line," Zach says.

"This isn't a line," Zara says. "This is a….horde…"

They do their best to ease into the flow of traffic, elbows pushing against them at every angle. Overweight Buddha bellies bump into their backs, and short children weave in between their legs. Passing through the gate, they turn left into a long, dark tunnel. The roof of the tunnel hangs over ten feet above their heads. The incessant voice of the tourists echo off the walls of the tunnel, creating a noise so vociferous that Grey has to cover his ears at first.

The crowd makes its way toward a tall glass window embedded into the wall on the left hand side. Zara does her best to fight her way through and clear a path toward the viewing area, but the crowd just around the window proves too dense and unmoving. It doesn't help that the people right up against the glass seem to be somehow taller than most of the people behind them.

Grey tries to grab a glance in the slivers of space in between the overbearing bodies crowding the observation area. At first, he sees only flashes of green and brown, glimpses of an inside forest composed of redwoods and other conifers. The ground is mostly barren earth, save for a few groves of ferns growing around the base of some of the trees. Grey sees no hint of any walls, and the shadows cast by the trees hint at a space wide and expansive.

Eventually, Grey sees something on the ground; a speck of white. It appears to be some kind of animal, but what kind he can't tell. The fleeting glimpses do nothing to help give him an idea of scale. Is it a cat? Too small. A cow? Too big. It isn't until Grey finally sees the horns that he realizes that it's a goat.

 _Boom_

Nobody hears it at first, over the roar of the crowd.

 _Boom_

Those closest to the glass perk up their ears.

 _Boom_

The crowd begins to turn their heads toward the right hand side of the enclosure.

 _Boom_

 _Boom_

 _Boom_

Unable to restrain himself, Grey begins leaping up into the air repeatedly, trying to crane his neck over the taller people in front. Over the very tops of their heads, Grey catches the back of something huge and dull brown moving slowly closer. Trying again to see through the horde, he sees the vague outline of a long, wide skull, gleaming yellow teeth hanging from the upper jaws. With each booming footstep, the lumbering behemoth meanders toward the goat, now struggling furiously against the tether tying it to a post in the ground.

The head rises high over the heads of the human onlookers, and Grey catches a glimpse of a bright yellow eye before the skull dives down toward the goat. The spectators in front break out into cheers and applause. Grey tries to see the carnage unfolding in the paddock within, but the crowd doesn't budge. The head briefly comes up again as Grey sees the bloody hind-quarters slide effortlessly down the creature's throat.

Once the goat is gone, booming footfalls begin again, this time growing fainter and fainters. Once they almost fade from hearing, the group in front begins to dissipate, finally giving Grey the chance to get right up against the glass. But by now, all he sees is the vague shadowy form of a long tail, swaying slightly as it disappeared into the forest.

"No!" Grey hisses to himself as he stares out into a seemingly empty pen. Feeling let down beyond anything in his entire life, he turns to Zach and says, "This is all your fault!"

"How is this my fault?" Zach says.

"If you hadn't wasted time talking to that girl, then we would have gotten here on time to get a good view!" Grey says pushing Zach in the stomach.

"Hey, piss off!" Zach says, shoving Grey back.

Zara steps in before another shove can be given. "Hey! Both of you, knock it off!" Grey still has a deathly glare on his face, but he steps back from his brother at Zara's word. "Look, there are three more T. rex feeding shows today, and plenty more this week! Trust me, you'll get to see the T. rex while you're here."

"What are we going to do now?" Grey asks.

Zara takes a moment to think, and checks her watch. "How about this," she finally says, "There's another feeding show starting in an hour, and this one's even better – the…..oh, what it's called…..Mo-...Mosa-"

" _Mosasaurus_?" Grey says, swinging right back into unbridled enthusiasm.

"Right, that's the one," Zara says. "It starts at 3 O'clock. It takes place in a gigantic stadium, so we won't have to worry about not being able to see, but we still have plenty of time to get good seats. Does that sound good."

"Yes, yes," Grey says, holding his balled fists by his side.

After killing some time in the Jurassic Traders gift shop, all three of them make their way toward the Mosasaurus stadium. It is an absolutely colossal arena, half the size of a football stadium. Rows of seats stretch in a half circle around the edge of a huge artificial lagoon, afternoon sunlight glistening harshly off the blue-green tropical water. An electric fence acts as a barrier around the outer edges the lagoon. An extended walk way extends out partway over the lagoon, a small control panel standing at the very end. Rising out of the water are a series of structures connected by a wire. By the entrances to the stadium, vendors sell blue ponchos punched with the Jurassic World logo. A sign by each vendor warns 'the entire stadium is a splash zone!'

True to her word, Zara ensure that they get the best seats they can – center stage, slightly higher than the middle most rows. One by one, all of the seats of the stadium are filled, not a single one left untaken. At precisely 3:00 on the dot, colorful lights flash around the edges of the pool and grand, sweeping music begins to play on the powerful loudspeakers. A woman dressed in a blue shirt and white skirt walks onto the walk way over the pool. "Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to Jurassic World! How y'all doing today?"

Zara leans over to Grey and whispers to him, "She looks cute, but she's absolutely insane." Grey snickers.

"So today, we're going to be looking the largest predator here at Jurassic World – the Mosasaurus! Now despite what you might think, the Mosasaurus actually isn't a dinosaur, but actually a kind of marine reptile, closely related to modern snakes and lizards such as the Komodo dragon. Mosasaurus is actually just one species of a whole family of reptiles called – appropriately enough – mosasaurs! Mosasaurs were an extremely successful group of predators, and could range in size from 10 – 60 feet long! Now our Mosasaurus – who we like to call Maisey – is currently 58 feet long, and weighs around 40 tons! But believe it or not, we think she may still have a little bit of growing left to do!

"Mosasaurus was one of the most ferocious predators during the Cretaceous period, about 70-66 million years ago. Prehistoric Mosasaurus is thought to have hunted near the surface of the water, where it preyed on anything it could sink its teeth into, including large fish and squid, sea turtles, and even smaller Mosasaurs! But one of their favorite prey items were sharks!" At that moment, she presses a button on the control panel, and something begins to slide down the wire hanging over the lagoon. Grey squints to try and make it out, finally recognizing the triangular form of a large shark, hanging upside down by its tail. The dead shark dangles limply from the harness, its jaws hanging open, baring its teeth in a fruitless effort to appear intimidating. "Okay folks, she's a little shy, so be nice give her a hand when she comes out."

At first, the shark simply hangs where it is, right over the center of the tropical pool. The audience sits with baited breath, trying to find the lurking giant before it can launch their assault.

A wall of white foam explodes upwards as a gigantic, torpedo shaped body erupts out of the water. A long, pointed snout opens up and snaps shut like a bear trap around the limp fish's upper body. There is a moment when the titanic lizard hangs by its lunch, suspended over the pool. But the moment collapses as the shark rips in half, and the Mosasaurus takes the top off back with it as it crashes down back into the water, sending tremendous splashes all over the audience. Once the spray stops, everybody begins to applaud the spectacle. "THAT WAS AWESOME!" shouts Grey.

But as the crowd begins cheering, the entire stadium shudders before it begins to sink.

"Okay, hold on tight folks, we're going to give you an even closer look at Maisey!" the woman says.

As the stadium sinks lower, Zara, Zach, Grey, and everyone else in the arena is confronted with a wall of glad, holding back tons of gallons worth of artificial salt water. Below the water, the sleek, streamlined body of the Mosasaurus cuts through the water with ease. She propels herself forward with a tall, vertical tail fluke, swinging from side to side. Four flippers stick out from its side, acting to stabilize and steer the marine predator as it moves forward. The skin is smooth along the bottom, with small keeled scales running along the upper part of the body.

The back half of the shark's body drops into the water, and begins sinking to the bottom, red blood pouring into the surrounding blue. Shortly after the Mosasaurus sees the back half of her meal, she lunges forward, opening her jaws to reveal a black, forked tongue, and an extra series of teeth on the roof of its mouth.

Grey Is whooping his head off at the sight of the incredible, sixty foot sea lizard cruising through the water. Zara smiles widely seeing Grey so happy, and even Zach seems to finally be getting into the spirit of things.

The show doesn't last very long. As the masses of people pour of the stadium, Grey is practically skipping with delight around Zara and Zach. "So I'm guessing you enjoyed that?" Zara asks.

"That was so awesome!" Grey says again, having no other words for it.

"Well, good. I'm glad you enjoyed it," Zara says.

"So what's next?" Grey says, already wondering how they can possibly top that.

"Well, what would you like to see? There's a Pachy Arena show starting at 4, we can catch that if you like?" Zara says.

Grey shakes his head. "Nah, I don't want to do another show right now. I wan….like….like, I want something that gets you closer to the animals. I want to get right up close to see them."

Zara takes a moment to think to herself before saying, "I know just the thing…"


	29. Chapter 27 - Escape

Pulling out of the mountain tunnel, the sedan approaches the Indominus paddock. All around the paddock is a perimeter of ACU jeeps, each carrying no less than five soldiers. The force amounts to around fifty soldiers total. They are all mostly congregated around the huge gate on the side of the enclosure. Besides the armed guards, there's also a crane, and a truck with a huge flatbed parked right next to the gate.

Masrani lets out a whistle at the sight of everything outside the paddock. "Not taking any chances with this animal escaping?"

"Absolutely not," Claire says. "This is by far our most dangerous asset."

"Let's just hope everybody knows what they're doing," Owen says, not exactly reassured. Pulling up the ladder leading up to the observation deck, all three of them get out of the car.

"Mr. Masrani!" a voice calls out to them. Turning around, they all see the tall, porky form of Vic Hoskins jiggling toward them, this time sporting a buzzcut and goatee. Smiling, he says, "Didn't know you would be here for this?"

 _Of course you didn't_ , Claire thinks to herself, _you never read my memos_.

"Of course!" Masrani says. "This asset marks the beginning of a new era at Jurassic World. It is only fitting that I be here to introduce her to the world."

"Well, we're excited to have you here!" Hoskins says. "Though, with any luck, you won't get the chance to see my team in action here."

 _You damn well better hope so_ , _Hoskins_ Claire thinks, growing more and more nervous.

"I fully expect everything to go off without a hitch. I have the up most confident in you, and in Claire, and in all of the staff here at Jurassic World. Now, let's get a look at her," Masrani says, turning back to the ladder.

He leads the three of them up into the observation deck. The mostly barren room houses only one staff member, as well as a control panel in the center, in front of the window facing into the paddock, and a number of security monitors in the corner. The man, Nick, stands up at attention, brushing doughnut crumbs off of his shirt as the three of them enter. "Good afternoon Mr. Masrani, Ms. Dearing, Owen," he says, pretending that he didn't have any food in his mouth before finding a moment to swallow.

"Hey Nick," Owen says, being the only one of the three who knows his name off the top of their heads.

"So, where is she?" Masrani says, pressing his face right up against the glass.

"You might have trouble finding her," Nick says. "She likes to hide."

"She's very good at it too," Owen says. "Genes from cuttlefish and tree frogs mean that she can camouflage in both the visual and infrared spectrums."

"Really?" Masrani asks, turning to look at Owen for a moment. "So she can hide from thermal technology?"

"For a while, anyway," Owen says.

"According to her chip," Nick says, "she should be hanging out somewhere over in that clump of trees." He points out to a spot about 200 feet in front where a bunch of trees go close together.

"I can't see her," Masrani says.

"I….oh, that she is," Owen says, pointing to the trees as well.

"Where?" Masrani asks, straining his eyes even further.

"There, see, behind that gingko," Owen says.

"Oh yeah, I see her," Claire says.

"What?!" Masrani asks, perplexed. "I don't see anything other than trees!"

"What can I say? I told you she was good at hiding," Owen says. "Look, she's under that tree, close to the ground, her tail curled around her."

Masrani tries as hard as he can to see it, but still he can't discern anything apart from the trees. "I can't see a thing," he says, getting frustrated. "What if she does this when on display? What if none of the guests can see her?"

"She can't hide forever," Owen says, not especially caring whether any guests can or can't see her.

"Can she see us?" Masrani asks.

Owen shakes his head. "She can't see us, but she can sense our body heat. She has genes from a Gaboon viper that allow her to sense thermal radiation."

Masrani gets a confused look on his face. "Why would she need those genes?"

"Good question," Owen says. "Claire?"

Taking half a second to give Owen a dirty look, Claire says, "The creature design we settled on required a forked tongue. That's where those genes come in."

"Oh," Masrani says simply, more appeased by this answer than Owen is. "Owen, Claire tells me you were involved with the _Indominus_ during its early stages."

"That's correct," Owen says.

"What made you decide to come back for today?"

"Did Claire tell you why I left in the first place," Owen asks. When Masrani says no, Owen explains. "I left because I don't believe that this animal should have been created in the first place. And as time went on, I started to believe that she should have been euthanized to prevent further suffering."

"What do you mean?" Masrani asks, growing concerned.

"I don't know if things have changed at all, but while I was observing her, this animal did not know how to react to anything besides through aggression. She would attack us any time we tried any kind of basic interaction. We try to feed her, one of the workers nearly loses an arm. We try to clean her, she attacks. Finally, the last straw came when she killed and ate her sibling."

A grim look falls over Masrani's face. "She….she, there were two of them?"

"There were, yeah. And then one day, seemingly for no reason, this one decided to kill and eat the other. That's when I'd had enough. You start out with an unstable animal, raising it in isolation is only going to exacerbate that problem. I wanted to put her down to prevent any further needless suffering."

"Claire, is this true?" Masrani asks.

Claire nods. "Yes, the aggression Owen reports seeing is well documented. But since Owen left, we have seen a significant decrease in hostility on the part of the _Indominus_. Isn't that right, Nick?"

"Mostly, yeah," Nick says. "I mean, the worst thing she does is that, sometimes, toward the end of the day, she'll just start roaring for a while, but that never lasts too long. And after that, she seems fine."

"Looks can be deceiving," Owen says, unconvinced.

"Nevertheless, she hasn't proven any more or less difficult to manage than any other asset in the park," Claire says.

"Yeah, tell that to the guy who nearly got his arm burned off," Owen says.

"What?!" Masrani asks, taken aback.

"Yeah, when she was just a few weeks old she spat noxious chemicals at a handler that sent him to the burn ward," Owen says.

Masrani looks from Nick to Claire, hands out and looking positively perplexed. "It can spit noxious chemicals? How is that even possible?"

"That you'd have to ask Dr. Wu about," Owen says. "He says that he used the DNA of some animals as filler in between the desired genes, but why that should include the chemical weaponry of a bombardier beetle is anyone's guess!"

Masrani puts out his hand and says, "Who, whoa, slow down. Okay, let's back up a second. You originally bred two of these animals, but one of them was so aggressive that it killed and ate its sibling. It can camouflage itself nearly perfectly, and it can spit toxic chemicals." He turns to Claire and says, "Who's idea was this?"

"Dr. Wu's" Claire says unflinchingly.

"Okay," Masrani says. "But you approved it."

"That's right, I did," Claire says, trying not to get defensive. "As did everyone one of your Board of Directors, including your Vice President, Lilah Martin. Oh, and there was one final person who also signed off on it…oh, what was his name, God it's right on the tip of my freakin' tongue….uh, oh that's right, you!"

Her sarcasm is disarming. Masrani just stands with his mouth agape. "I…I, I don't remember seeing anything about this kind of monster!"

"Well, then pay more attention next time you put your signature on the go ahead to create a genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur!" Claire says. Owen looks at Claire, actually impressed with the points she's raising.

"Now look," Masrani says, stepping forward. "Now I agreed to allow you to create a hybrid animal. I never agreed to allow for the creation of anything so dangerous and aggressive."

"Except that you did, and I have the files to prove it," Claire says. "The information about what the asset would look like was included with the original forms. As for the aggression, you don't breed an animal with sharp teeth and claws and expect it to be docile. What you see in that pen is the sum total of everything asked for by the visitors and approved by every Masrani higher up, including you."

Masrani adjusts his coat slightly and says, "I….I would never have approved of this if I knew this would be the end result."

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda," Claire says, unimpressed. "Next time you sign off on a new asset, make sure you actually know what it is you're approving."

"I'm with Claire on this one," Owen says, standing beside her. Claire turns around, trying not to show her surprise. "I don't agree with her decision, but at least she stands by it."

Masrani's eyes move down, unable to look at them directly. After a brief moment of brooding, he asks "She hasn't killed anyone?" Masrani asks. Claire shakes her head. "And you are positive that you can contain her?" he asks.

"We've done it for three years already," Claire says.

Masrani relaxes a bit, trying to get back into the idea. "How do you plan on getting her out of here?"

"Well, "Nick says, inserting himself back into the conversation, "after she got to a certain size, tranquilizer darts couldn't pierce her armor," Nick says. "So in order to clean the enclosure, we started to feed her steer carcasses filled with narcotics. She's not stupid, she knows when we're drugging her – she can smell the drugs. And at first we did have some problems getting her to cooperate, but in the end, she just decided to go with it. So that's what we're going to do here."

"Once she's out cold," Claire continues, "We load her up with the crane onto the flatbed, and off she goes to her new home. Unfortunately, since she won't fit through the tunnel, we'll have to go the long way around the mountains. But all in all, she should be in her new enclosure by 5 O'clock at the latest"

"Sounds like clockwork," Masrani says with a smile. "So what are we waiting for? Might as well get this over with."

Claire nods, and says to Nick, "Let's get started."

Nick clicks a button on the radio on his shirt collar. "ACU, we are go for delivery, do you copy?"

A pause.

"Copy that," Hoskins voice comes from over the radio. With the go ahead, Nick presses a button. Slowly, a blood-red steer carcass is lowered, hooked to the end of a crane. The huge shank of beef drops to the ground, and the crane retracts upwards. Watching the fleshy corpse, the four of them wait. And wait. And wait, until something emerges from the foliage next to the carcass. A claw, over three feet long, savagely curved and viciously sharp, gently touches the mammalian flesh. It is followed by two more claws of equal length, all attached to the same hand. The hand wraps around the carcass and drags into the shadowy patch of undergrowth, vanishing from sight.

"My god…" Masrani says at the sight of the enormous hand. His demeanor changes instantly upon catching his first glimpse of the _Indominus_. Any doubts or worries vanish instantly.

"Think it'll scare the kids?" Claire asks, half-jokingly.

"The kids?" Masrani asks before finishing. "This will give the parents nightmares!"

Claire is confused. "…Wait, is that good?"

"It's fantastic," Masrani says in a low, almost envious voice.

"I thought you didn't approve?" Claire asks.

At first, Masrani doesn't have an answer. "I…well, it's…it's like you said, Claire. As long as she can be managed properly, there's no need to worry." Claire rolls her eyes.

"So what now?" Owen asks.

"Now we wait," Nick says. "She has a pretty fast metabolism, so it usually doesn't take long for her to go under. Usually about 20 minutes at most."

Suddenly, a thought occurs to Owen. "How was she acting this morning?"

Nick shrugs. "Eh, business as usual. I mean, until ACU showed up. Then she got all excited, was hanging out around the gate, kind of right where the jeeps were. I mean, no doubt, she knew that something was going on on the other side."

"Any change yet?" Masrani asks.

Owen looks back at where he knows the creature is. "Not yet. She's still just…staring at us."

"Why's she staring at us?" Masrani asks.

Owen shrugs. "Can't say for sure. Probably because she isn't used to sensing so many heat signatures as once."

Masrani smiles a little. "Ooohhh…so she's intelligent then?"

"Sure," Claire says. "For a dinosaur."

"She's at least as intelligent as my raptors," Owen says defensively. "If not moreso."

More minutes pass by, until finally, she emerges. Stepping out of the tropical plant life, she stands at over 25 feet tall at her eye line. Her skull, wide at the base of the jaw line leading to an elongate snout, is stark white, save for black markings that align to position of the holes in her skull. Her snaggle-toothed face stares out with bright yellow cat-like eyes. Two lines of parallel spikes run along the top of her short, stocky neck. The hands from before come out, attached to arms over ten feet long, heavily muscled with the palms facing inwards. All along its back, a series of wide, bony armor plates cover the outer layers of skin, and sharp spikes sprout from her sides, as well as her shoulders. She walks with two powerful hind legs, each bearing the raptorial claw on the second toe. Most of her length is made of her whip-like tail, tipped in a fearsome club bearing four more spikes. Apart from her skull-like face, she is colored a rusted red, like dried blood, save for the salmon pink of her underside. The two halves are separated by a black stripe running down her body. The color of her skin seems to shimmer as it rotates between different shades and hues.

She takes a few steps forward, coming out into the open. After the first few steps, her pace become slower and more awkward. She seems to struggle just to keep herself from collapsing to the ground. Finally, she seems to succumb to the drugs, gently lying down on her side. Her eyelids shut, and her forked tongue hangs out of her mouth. She stops switching between skin colors, and her side begins rising and lowering very slowly to the rhythm of her labored breathing.

"She's down," Nick says.

"You sure?" Owen asks.

"Oh yeah. You can tell because her skin stopped changing color," Nick says. "She used to try faking it when we first started giving it to her, but we could always tell because her skin would always keep changing." Then Nick presses his radio again. "ACU, target is down and waiting delivery, copy?"

"Copy that," Hoskins voice says over the radio.

"Holy shit…..now that is a monster," Masrani says, looking at the collapsed form of the giant animal.

A loud groaning sound comes from the door as the hinges begin grinding. The two doors swing outwards, forming a wide gate way. Half of the ACU soldiers rush into the paddock, guns pointed firmly in the direction of the unconscious beast. Once the soldiers are in place, the transport staff begin the process of securing the harness around her so that she can moved by the crane onto the flatbed.

Looking at her sprawled body, Owen asks Nick, "How big is she?"

"I don't know," Nick says. "We've never had the chance to properly measure her."

"She's supposed to be about 75 feet long, and weigh about 15 tons," Claire says.

"I can believe that," Owen says, seeing how long her tail stretches. As Masrani and Claire exchange more chit chat, Owen moves closer to the viewing glass, watching as the transport staff hook her up to the crane. White foamy saliva pools around her gaping maw. Aside from her heaving side, she is completely motionless, as if partially paralyzed. With the tiny humans scurrying all around her, he fully expects her to spring to life at any moment and slaughter them in all in an instant. But as she continues to lay, fully sedated, his fears only grow.

His anxiety grows to the point where he desperately feels the need for reassurance. Going over to the control panel, he punches some of the controls to bring up her vital signs.

His heart begins to pound at a furious rate.

Trying to keep as calm as possible, he turns to the other three and says, "Get them out of there, immediately!"

Turning to face them, they give him confused looks. Claire asks, "Why?"

Pointing to the control panel, Owen says, "This system is connected to the chip imbedded in her skin, it monitors her vital signs. If she was sedated we should see a decrease in her heart rate, but according to the screen, hers is at a rate normal for animals of this size."

"So…..what are you saying?" Claire says.

"I'm saying she's not sedated," Owen says, although he can't bring himself to say the next part.

But Claire finishes the thought for him. "What, you think she's faking?" Claire says with a single chuckle.

Owen dodges the question. "I don't know, all I know is that these are not the vital signs of an unconscious animal."

Masrani says, "Maybe we should evacuate the enclosure…just in case…"

Shrugging, Claire says, "Alright. Go ahead Nick."

"Keep it slow," Owen warns. "If they panic, she might wake up."

Rolling her eyes, Claire says, "Just give the order."

Nick clicks his radio. "ACU, we have reason to believe the asset may be conscious. It is advised that all personnel evacuate the paddock."

There's almost no time before Hoskins' response. "Copy."

Inside, all of the people immediately drop what they are doing, and begin heading toward the still open gate. Tools are dropped, work stopped dead in its tracks. ACU soldiers keep their weapons pointed directly toward the creature, walking backwards as they too exit the pen.

Her eye opens.

A flash of color streaks across the paddock. Everyone on their way out is now on their backs. Gunfire erupts from both inside and outside the paddock. The bullets bounce right off of the Indominus, now standing at full height and titling forward so that the gun shots hit nothing but her densely armored back plates. Angry, terrified shouts ring out from the employees now directly in the path of the largest flesh eater ever to set foot on earth.

"Close the door!" Masrani shouts.

"We can't just lock them in there with that-" Claire starts.

But Masrani cuts her off, pushing to the control panel, "Come one, shut it now!" he cries out, pressing buttons until he activates the door shut.

The door begins to swing shut. But the sight causes the beast to charge forward. Reaching out with its immense arms, it wraps its fingers around the doors and pushes against them. A painful groaning sounds from the strained hinges, doing their best to resist the force of the Indominus' assault. The clash of forces proves too much for the doors, which break off from their hinges and fall to the ground, the Indominus pushing through into the outside world.

Hoskins' voice comes through Nick's radio. "All troops, abort mission! Retreat, retreat! Do not engage hostile, weapons ineffective! I repeat – retreat!"

Stomping out into the gravel-paved roads just outside the gates, the _Indominus rex_ swipes at any troops not fast enough to move away from the gate. If the gashes made into their chest cavities don't kill them, the force of them colliding with the ground does. As most of the jeeps pull off into the mountain tunnel, out of reach of the rampaging creature, those jeeps left behind by the fallen troops are tossed aside like children's toys by careless swipes of its club-tipped tail. Scanning the scene, she sees nothing but broken piece of machinery, crushed cars, and bloodied human remains. Looking up, she sees the towering shapes of the jagged mountains, covered in lush jungle. With no walls to block her path, she is unsure of what to do next. It makes her anxious, not knowing what comes next.

A wind from the East catches her nostrils. Sniffing the breeze, she catches the scent of something that causes her to open her jaws to their widest and let out a trumpeting, bellowing roar from deep in her gut. Great booming footsteps echo across the tallest peaks of the island as she lumbers off to find a way through the mountains.


	30. Chapter 28 - The Gyrosphere

The monorail speeds along the track, over the jungle canopy on one side, and grassy meadows on the other. Dim lighting inside the car is joined by generic music meant to evoke a sense of adventure, but is playing too quietly to have any real effect at all. Zara sits in between Zach on her left and Grey on her right. Zach is, once more, engaged in conversation with a young woman sitting next to him, leaving Zara and Grey to chat amongst themselves.

"So we're not going to the Cretaceous Cruise…maybe _Gallimimus_ Valley?" Grey ventures a guess as to their next location.

A voice comes over the loudspeakers in the car, and says, "Now approaching: _Gallimimus_ Valley Station."

Grey looks hopefully at Zara, but she shakes her head with a smile. "Ah damn," he says. Zara knows that she should probably say something about the swearing, but Grey is just too damn cute to say anything. The train comes to a slow, deliberate halt, without any screeching of the breaks against the tracks. The doors hiss as they slide open. There is about an equal exchange of guests coming off the train and coming on. "Okay…hmm…next stop is…." He says to himself, examining the map. "The Gyrosphere. Is that it?"

Zara tightens her smile and says, "Told you Grey, I'm not saying anything. You're just going to have to wait."

Grey smiles. "It _is_ the Gyrosphere, isn't it?" The fact that she says nothing and simply maintains her smile all but confirms it. Getting excited, he flips to the back of the map, where all of the information about all the different attractions is listed. "Species featured: _Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Camarasaurus_ , and _Othnielia_!" He wets his appetite with each name, listing them off with increasing levels of excitement.

"Do you recognize all of those dinosaurs?" Zara ask.

"Well yeah. Those are all the famous ones that always show up in books and stuff…..mostly. I mean, _Othnielia_ isn't as famous as some of the others, but I've still known about it since I was eight."

"I….I mean, I guess I recognize, like…two? Three maybe?" Zara says. "And most of the names on the brochure I've never heard of before…..how many do you know?"

"All of them," Grey says.

"Really?" Zara says, incredulously. Grey nods. "All 71 of them?" Grey nods again. "That….wow," she says with a giggle. "That-that's almost scary, you know."

"See people always say that," Grey says, with just a hint of frustration. "But it's really not that hard. And I don't mean that in a show-offy way. I just always thought it was pretty straightforward."

"How do you reckon that?" Zara asks.

"It's like…..okay, every dinosaur name means something. They're made from two or more different words from ancient Greek or Latin or whatever, and when you figure out what they mean, it helps to identify the animal. So, for example, 'saurus' means lizard, or reptile depending on the translation. But that's why so many dinosaur names have it. And, and, uh…so _Brontosaurus_ means thunder lizard because it's so big and strong, and _Tyrannosaurus_ means tyrant lizard because it was the ruler of the dinosaurs."

Zara smiles listening to Grey explain. She doesn't quite catch everything he says, but she enjoys watching him talk with passion about something he knows and cares about.

"Now approaching: Gyrosphere Station," the voice calls out. Grey turns to Zara, and she nods. He practically leaps out of his seat, making sure that he is the first one out the door at the station. Zara reaches out and grabs the sleeve of his shirt to keep from losing track of him. Seeing that their stop is fast approaching, Zach bids the woman goodbye and joins Zara and Grey as they prepare to disembark.

The visitors waiting by the doors to the monorail have to part in the middle as Grey shoots out of the sliding doors. "Grey, careful now, wait for us," Zara says as she and Zach follow him out. Already several feet out in front of them, he bounds up and down in place waiting for them to catch up. When they finally do, he hops onto the escalator going down, Zara and Zach two steps just above him.

At the bottom of the steps is a big blue sign, spelling out in white letters 'Gyrosphere, this way' with an arrow pointing to the left. He runs past a soda machine, a snack machine, and a small restroom as he rounds a corner and meets a line of people winding 12 times down a boardwalk. Where the line ends, a sign reads 30 minutes. Grey almost feels crestfallen before remembering the free access his wristband grants him to the front of any line. "So how does it work?" Grey says, looking at Zara. "Do we just go up there, or…?"

"We use this special VIP entrance, through here," she says, pointing to an empty stretch of boardwalk leading to the front of the line. The VIP entrance is locked by a gate fitted with a scanner. The scanner reads their wristbands, and allows the two boys to pass through. But Zara, with no wrist band of her own, is forced to stay behind. "You two go on ahead. I'll meet you back at the loading platform when you get back, alright?"

"Okay," Grey says. The tiny part of him that regrets Zara not being able to go with them is almost totally overshadowed by the excitement of boarding the ride.

They step right up to the ride operator – a bored-looking, twenty-something year old with traces of recent acne on his face. Having seen them enter the VIP line legitimately, he puts a stopper on the next group, and brings them to a Gyrosphere fitted for two.

The 7 foot tall gyroscopic spheres are made of crystal clear, spotless glass, fitted between metal support structures fitted to the bottom. The steel supports are highlighted with Jurassic World trademarked blue. Two chairs sit right beside one another, with a single control stick placed between them. A few feet in front of the stick is a small screen, currently on standby mode as the Gyrosphere waits to be loaded.

The operator seats them in the Gyrosphere and fits their seatbelts over their chests. "Welcome aboard the Gyrosphere, Jurassic World's most immersive experience," he says in the most disinterested voice he can muster. "While in your Gyrosphere, you are free to explore the dinosaur habitat for a total of one hour. Sign posts are spread throughout the area to help lead you back to the loading platform. You must return the Gyrosphere no later than one hour after departure, failure to do so will result in a $50 fine. Automatic reminders will help you keep track of time. Gyrospheres automatically retreat from dinosaurs within 20 feet of them. When observing the animals, please remember to respect their boundaries. Taking Gyrospheres out of the enclosure is strictly prohibited and will lead to immediate expulsion from the park with no refunds. Please note that all Gyrospheres can be overridden from park control."

He finishes the speech with a glazed look in his eye, and is already turned halfway around back toward the line before the last sentence is finished. Neither brother cares; Zach is already on his cell phone, and Grey is eager to get started. He grabs the end of the joy stick in his right hand and pushes forward. The sphere quietly hums as it crawls forward, eventually reaching a top speed of five miles per hour. The first sign post ahead of them directs them to take a left, heading straight into the heart of the habitat.

The valley before spreads like an ocean of brilliant, lime green, hills rolling like waves against the pure blue backdrop. The surface of this sea of grass is totally undisturbed, save for the occasional lone tree or two rising out like stationary buoys. No matter which direction they turn their heads, there is no sign of any fences or boundaries of any kind, nothing but immense open space as far as they can see. And even then, there are still no obvious signs of the residents. The only clue they have to tell them they aren't lost is a truck parked next to a steaming heap of feces. A staff member hack away at the pile with a shovel, hauling it chunk by chunk into the back of the truck. The scene is so otherwise peaceful that Grey shuts off the incessant Jimmy Fallon-led narration video. Zach has no objections.

7 minutes in. As they come to the crest of a tall hill, something rises up from behind the other side. A long, dopey face with two, simple, dark eyes gazes down at them. The head sits on top of a long, fat neck, the sides lined with small, pointed spikes jutting outwards from the bottom. The neck is colored a mixture of dappled oranges, whites, and blacks, all leading up to a vivid orange-colored face. The rest of the body is a dark, dull gray, covered in small, mosaic scales. The bulky, rotund body is supported by four stout legs, relatively thin consider the sheer tonnage they have to support. The horseshoe-shaped forefeet bear no hooves or nails, save for one inward pointing thumb claw, while the back feet are flat and come with three claws each. Balancing out the neck is a tremendously long, whip-like tail, twirling lazily as it sticks out behind the creature. It pays little heed to the two boys passing by in their ball, staring at them lazily through half-drooped eyelids.

Grey knows this creature. The name is blinking in bright letters at the fore front of his mind. But he is utterly speechless at the sight of enormous animal looming over them. Even Zach can't help but look up from his phone when the _Apatosaurus_ meanders into view at the top of the hill. Grey reaches out and places his hand on the glass of the Gyrosphere, his fingertips appearing over the shape of the animal's body. He wishes so much to press through the barrier, and feel the pebbly texture of those scales against his fingers.

Coming over to the top of the hill, passing the Apatosaurus, Grey and Zach look out over a vast grassland, teeming with a variety of different kinds of dinosaurs. There are more _Apatosaurus_ , some of them even larger than the first specimen. But they are not the only long-necked herbivore striding across the plains. They are joined by the short-skulled _Camarasaurus_ , overall shorter, but also taller than their apatosaurine cousins. Their rough, scaly hides are a muted, dirt brown, save for black and white stripes running dorso-laterally along their tails. The _Camarasaurus_ travel in small herds, unlike the plat-backed _Stegosaurus_ , who wander alone. Tiny, elongate beaked skulls are connected to high-hipped chubby bodies by a neck protected by ossicles along the throat. They are colored almost like a giant panda, only brown on the parts where the panda would be black. Each one of their seventeen plates is dotted with a wide red and black eye spot, and their four tail-spikes shine jet black in the sun.

Darting in between the feet of the _Stegosaurus_ are small, agile bipeds – the _Othnielia_. The turkey-sized plant-eaters busily trail after the spike-tails, picking up any spoils they leave behind. Colored like young deer, and covered with tall, red-tinted spines all along their backs, the forage like wild game birds, reaching down and snapping up small plants in their beaked snouts.

Under the shade of a single tall tree, a dozen or so _Parasaurolophus_ lay on their bellies to escape the heat of the day. Half of the herd have their heads down, seemingly napping, while the other half keep their heads up and alert. Most of the herd have shorter, more sharply-curved crests, save for at least one individual with long, straighter crest colored a deep red. Their coloring is reminiscent of a gazelle, mostly brown bodies with darker stripes running horizontally down their backs over paler undersides.

Grey sees only one _Ankylosaurus_. As it ambles along, it wide body hangs low over the ground, supported by stubby legs. Dense armor plating covers its back, leading all the way down to the lobed club at the end of its tail. Four spikes jut out backwards from its head, and its snout curves down at a sharp angle. This allows it to sweep its beak over the ground, slurping up anything it can with a muscular tongue.

And last of all, the knight in scaly armor. Shield held aloft over its head, three broad swords pointed forward with unyielding determination - the triumphant _Triceratops_. Sharp, parrot-like beak rounds out a head so disproportionately huge, even for such a large animal. Half squatting on its forelimbs, this long-hipped forager stands proud, tail sloping elegantly downwards. There are four of them, the largest having a face and frill colored like tribal war paint. The three smaller individuals around him are no doubt his harem, colored a more modest golden brown.

"Whoa," Zach says, his eyes actually appearing from behind his drooped eyelids.

Grey starts to breathe very fast and very heavily at the incredible spectacle spread out in the valley below. In all of his imaginings of what it would be like to finally come to Jurassic World and see these creatures with his own eyes, nothing compared to sight that now graced his eyes. There they were – alive, thriving in their recreation. There had to be hundreds of them,

He isn't sure if he just hasn't been blinking enough, or if the awe is finally getting to him. But either way – tears begin to stream down his face.

Caught up in the ecstasy of the creatures before them, neither boy notices the small blue helicopter flying low over the valley, heading South.


	31. Chapter 29 - Fox in the Hen House

Not one of them moves a muscle. Owen looks to Claire, who looks to Masrani, whose eyes are shut tight. Cold beads of sweat crawl down their brows, their hearts charged to full capacity, ready to erupt into action at the slightest disturbance. Through the concrete walls, they can still hear the guttural, bellowing roars sounding off in all directions. Something huge crashes down onto the gravely road. Then another crash. Another. Another. They grow fainter with each passing moment, until a stale, fragile silence falls over the scene.

All four of them let out a collective sigh of relief. "Well," Owen says in a low voice. "That's that."

"What are we going to do now?" Masrani asks, barely above a hiss.

"First thing's first, we need to make it back to the control room," Claire says through steady breaths. "We'll be able to track her movements from there. Then we can work out a plan to deal with this."

Owen nods. "Alright, you guys stay here….I'm going to check just to make sure she's gone." No one has any objections.

Creaking the door open just a sliver, Owen peers out into the open. A light breeze rustles the fronds of the nearby palm trees, but apart from that, all is quiet. Opening the door more, Owen pokes his head out and sees the car they came in, sitting untouched. The carnage unfolded on the other end of the paddock, so everything on their side remains undisturbed. With still no sign of her, Owen steps out into the open. He waves the others out, and they descend the stair case, quickly and quietly, and get into the car, pulling away past the bodies and wrecked jeeps, over the blood-stained gravel through the mountain tunnel.

After about 15 minutes' worth of driving, the car pulls into the employee lot behind the Innovation Center, and Claire leads them up the elevator to the control room, dismissing Nick for the day.

The elevator door slides open with a cheerful ding, and as Claire, Owen, and Masrani step out, they are met with a heavy silence. Radio chatter is all but nonexistent. Looking around the room, Claire sees staff members consoling each other. She sees empty stations. And more than anything, she sees dozens of pairs of eyes turned to her. Some are accusatory, but most are just asking for answers. Claire swallows before she hears something that didn't register when she first stepped out – a subtle, repeating beeping. Looking up at the screen, she sees the map of the island. Running along the Western coast is a small blip, moving South along the edge of the mountains, labeled 'DRX.'

"Everyone…remain…calm," Claire says, barely able to keep her voice from shaking.

"Claire," Lowery says, looking more confused than anything, "What happened? We just got a flood of panicked radio chatter during the transfer of the _Indominus_ , and when it ended….her implant is out of the paddock and moving South."

"I….we…she-she escaped," Claire says.

"Yeah, but how?" Vivian asks, close to tears.

Owen steps forward. "I've been thinking about that. Here's what I've been able to put together. The day started out just like any other for her…until all the ACU showed up outside the paddock. Nick said that she noticed them, and it probably made her anxious. Then, she noticed three new heat signatures in the observation deck, so that's two new things going on that she doesn't understand. Then, we try feeding her what she knows is a drug-laced steer carcass. Strange things are happening all around her, and now we want her to go to sleep. She knows something's up. So she takes the steer, pretends to eat it, and then plays dead to see what happens next. Then we open up the door and a bunch of humans come in and start man handling her. She bides her time until we let our guard down just enough. Then she launches her attack. She slaughters the ACU, breaks free from her enclosure, and now she's out there."

"You can speculate all you want about how she got it," Claire says. "The question now is what do we do now that she has?"

"We kill her," Owen says.

"How?" Claire asks. "ACU's weaponry had no effect on her."

"Then give them some real guns," Owen says. "Even ACU's lethals are on the lower end of the firepower spectrum, since, you know, _most_ dinosaurs aren't immune to gunfire. But you have an M-134 in your armory, put it on a chopper and smoke this thing!"

"Owen, this is an amusement park, there are families here! I am not going to open fire from the air on a family resort!" Claire says.

Owen throws his arms up into the air. "Well then what are you going to do?"

"We're going to activate a phase one, real world, and get everyone into the storm shelters," Claire says.

Masrani asks, "What storm shelters?"

"There are storm shelters near every major attraction, and near the resort. They're built to shelter guests from the tropical storms that sometimes batter the island. The guests can remain in there until after the _Indominus_ has been disposed of."

"How long is that going to take?" Owen asks. "There are 20,000 people out there, asking them to take cover in a storm shelter when there's no hint of a storm in sight is not going to go down well. Meanwhile, that thing is going to find her way, one way or another, into the park and when she does, you're going to have a blood bath on your hands."

"What's the alternative, opening fire on innocent people in broad daylight?" Claire asks frantically.

"Now hold on now, everybody calm down," Masrani says, stepping forward and looking at the screen. "It looks like she's still far from the nearest attraction. If we head out soon, then we should be able to cut her off," then he looks at Claire. "Let's let Asset Containment deal with it quietly. After all, the very existence of this park is predicated on our ability to handle incidents like this! It was an eventuality, right?"

"You should put that in the brochure," Lowery pipe up bitterly. "'Eventually, one of these things will eat somebody.'"

Ignoring him, Masrani says, "If he hurry, we can carry out this operation, far from the sight of any visitors. The matter will be taken care of and no one will be none the wiser."

"Mr. Masrani, please," Claire says, "I do not feel comfortable with the idea of heavy live ammunition being unloaded in a family resort."

"Well, I don't feel comfortable with a killer monster going on rampage around the island!" Owen says, his armed crossed. He rolls his eyes and put his face in his hands before he says, "You just don't understand. You created a genetic hybrid with a really aggressive predisposition. You raised it in captivity, totally isolated from the rest of the world." He points to the map. "She is seeing all of this for the first time. And if history is any guide, she's going to react to it the same way she's reacted to everything in her life – through hostility. She will attack and kill everything that moves. And give her enough time, she'll realize that she's the biggest, most powerful predator ever to walk the earth, and that is not something you want her to find out."

Masrani looks at him, not fully understanding. "You think the animal is contemplating its own existence?"

"She is a highly intelligent animal," Owen says. "There's no doubt in my mind that sense of self is within her cognitive powers."

Masrani nods. Looking back up, he sees the _Indominus'_ beacon continuing its course Southwards.  
"We have to deal with this as quickly as possible."

Claire tries to intervene, "Mr. Masrani, please-"

"No, Claire. I'm going with Owen's plan…we have to stop this before it can get any worse." Claire can't bring herself to say anything more. She steps back from Masrani, and folds her arms. Masrani reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone. "I'm calling my flying instructor, he's the only person qualified to pilot the chopper. Get ACU up here as soon as you can," he says, looking at Lowery.

Everyone stays in the control room, waiting and watching the beacon as it rounds its way around the Southern tip of the mountains, and makes a beeline Northwards directly for the very center of the park. This only serves to put everyone even more on edge, even as the M-134 is successfully mounted to the side of the Jurassic001 chopper that Masrani arrived in. With Anders the pilot sitting in place, two ACU soldiers head into the back of the chopper, which takes off to cut the _Indominus_ off before she reaches the nearest attraction.

* * *

She can feel soft, moist soil between her three toes. She feels the ferns brushing against her ankles with every step she takes. She pushes past each and every tree, clawing at the bark as she works to push them aside out of her way. Under the shadow of the towering canopy, her skin fades into a muted, dark green, revealed only occasionally by the dappled sunlight. Leaning forward, she sees a small trickling stream pushing past the rocks lining its edges. She cautiously sniffs the running water, cocking her head curiously to one side. Looking up the stream, she wonders where it's coming from. She's never seen running water before even in such a small amount. Lowering her jaw into the water, she allows the stream to trickle against her tongue. It isn't much of a drink, but it's something.

She has never seen trees such as these before; they are taller, wider, and somehow more…alive. They are crawling with tiny, colorful pests that dart through the air and in between the branches. She snaps at them whenever they come toward her. With all of the trees sprouting up so close together, she finds it very difficult to move around, cramped between the twisting, tangled tree trunks. But she sticks to the forest all the same, keeping clear from the wider, open spaces. They make her feel exposed and vulnerable. Within the confines of the forest, she feels secure. But with all of the things in the forest to see and to smell, she keeps her attention focused on the scent leading her ever Northwards, toward what – she doesn't know.

Her course finally brings her out of the trees, toward an open expanse of small, green plants, the tallest ones not even reaching to the tops of her toes. Though the tree line continues to hug the roots of the Western mountains, the scent she follows pulls her further away, toward the center of the island. At first, she can't bring herself to step out from under the trees. She cranes her neck forward, sniffing the open air. The short, ground plants carry a fresh odor, pleasing to her sense of smell. It helps her to work up the courage to take a step forward, her three, talon-tipped toes stepping out onto the soft plants, cushioning her feet like nothing she'd ever felt before. It makes taking the next step all the easier. As her body moves out from under the jungle shadow, she feels the warmth of the sun's rays on her skin, which shifts from dark green to shifting hues of orange and yellow. Looking from left to right, she sees nothing approaching, and so she sets off back on her course.

After trotting out a ways, she catches something in her sight. It's tiny, at least from this distance, rising up slowly from behind the Northeast horizon. It appears to be moving closer toward her, cutting through the sky like one of those pests from the jungle. Only this one appears bigger – much bigger. The closer it gets, the more obvious its huge size becomes. Its approach is accompanied by a sharp, rhythmic beating from the blades on its back. Angled down, its face appears to glare with a single black eye down at her. Starting to get more and more fearful, the hue of her skin changes again, matching the bright green of the grass around her. Her throat begins to warble as a low, ominous growl begins resonating from her slightly slack jaw.

Once the flying creature gets close enough, it turns on its side, revealing itself to be about half of her total length. She catches the sight of something on its side, but her examination is interrupted by a sudden explosion to her right. The ground erupts in a cloud of dirt that rains back down all around her. Then another blast rings out to her right. Without thinking, she heads back into the trees nearby, tearing up grass and earth with each furious footstep. The small explosions follow her even under the trees, where they snap huge branches in two and blast holes in the middle of even the biggest trunks. She changes colors once again, matching the dark green of the shadows underneath the canopy. Using her stealth and the cover of the trees, she races North at the foot of the mountains, hoping to out run her aerial pursuer.

Her strategy proves effective, but the blue creature above will not give up. It relentlessly chases her further and further, unleashing more of its incredible destructive power. Trees snap like twigs under its shadow. They offer her little in the way of shelter, and her lungs begin to burn from the intensity of the chase.

The sunlight bounces harshly off of something up ahead. Craning up to see what it is, something begins to come into view. It is clear, like water, but it stands tall over the land, shaped like a titanic dome. She has never seen anything like it before, but as she grows ever more desperate for cover, she makes her way toward the monstrous structure. She ducks off to the left, leaving the path of the creature's attack, giving her enough time to get there without it following at her heels.

She runs right up to its side, seeing both through it into the space behind, but also seeing something staring back at her – a huge, wide set of jaws cast a stark white, layers of interlocking teeth lining the exposed gums. The sight of such a hideous creature repels her for a second, causing her to take a step back. Oddly, the creature also takes a step back, as if mirroring her motions. She turns her head curiously, the creature does the same. She opens her jaws. It does the same. She raises an arm. Same. And then, a horrible realization dawns on her. The terrible beast staring back at her from this strange, clear wall is her. That is what she looks like.

In a sudden fit of blind rage, she swings her skull back and slams it against the glass wall. It barely even shakes at her assault. She tries again and again, bashing it with her clawed hands. Still it doesn't give. Finally, she opens her mouth wide and squeezes the two glands located under her tongue. Two different chemical secretions spray forward, and when they mix on the surface of the glass, a hissing sound reverberates off the wall along with rising steam. Then, with another swing of her skull, she crashes through onto the other side.

Once through, the image of herself on the wall is gone, shattered along with the piece of glass scattered all over the ground. Once inside, she sees tall cliff faces with huge, roaring waterfalls pouring thunderously into a flowing river running out of the dome. Staring up at the cliffs, she sees something she hadn't noticed before.

Sitting on the tops of the cliffs are yet more strange creatures, bizarre nightmare creatures beyond anything in her experience. They crouch low on the rocky outcrops, staring down at her with long skulls, pointing sharply both front ways and back ways. Their bodies are mostly very small, and covered in small, fuzzy things, almost like the grass growing out of the ground outside. Mostly they seem to be made of arms – long arms that end in hands ending in a single, gigantically elongate finger. Stretches of skin and muscle connect the tips of those huge fingers all the way down to their ankles. Some of them push off of these hypertrophied deformed arms and launch themselves from a sitting state right off the cliffs. But instead of collapsing to the ground, they flap those arms and propel themselves through the air. There are dozens of them, dozens of these unnatural, flapping, flying monsters zooming all around under the dome.

Unnerved by their disturbing appearance, she opens her mouth to its widest and screams out a horrific, snarling roar at them. The roar is so powerful, it knocks all of them off of their perches and scatters them throughout the dome. Seeing dozens and dozens of flying monsters circling over her, their shadows passing over her back, only serves to make her more paranoid. She spits more noxious spray at them which they easily avoid through their aerial acrobatics. But the smell of the fumes upsets them enough for them to swoop down low over the ground toward the hole in the dome she created on her way inside. In a matter of moments, there isn't a single one left.

* * *

"I can't get a lock! The damn thing keeps camouflaging!" one of the soldiers shouts over the pounding blades of the chopper.

Anders ignores the soldier and tries to keep his focus on controlling the Jurassic001 even at such a low altitude and trying to keep up with a fast-moving target. The fact that the creature had moved into the forest and was capable of blending into its environment with near perfect precision certainly wasn't helping.

"2'O clock, by the bird cage!" the other soldier calls out.

Anders looks to the point mentioned by the soldier, catching the huge, bubble-like domes of the Jurassic World Aviary. Squinting closely, he sees something clawing at the glass walls. Pulling on the control stick, he directs the chopper toward the creature. But before they can get within range of the gun, it crashes through the dome walls.

"Oh shit," the soldier at the gun says.

Anders keeps going toward the dome trying to get a fix on the _Indominus_ from outside. But not long after she crashes through, they see something pour out of the hole she created – a swarm of twenty foot pterosaurs flying in all directions.

"PULL UP, PULL UP!" one of the soldiers shouts, as Anders, mesmerized, keeps getting closer to the aviary. But as the pterosaurs scatter everywhere, he tries to pull away from the oncoming reptiles. But his efforts prove useless. A few of them get too close to the chopper, getting caught in the twirling blades. As their pycnofiber-covered bodies get sliced up by the chopper blades, the blades themselves snap and deform. The engine is pushed to its limits, but the blades refuse to cooperate, causing it to begin smoking profusely. Anders remains stoically silent, even as the soldiers are screaming for him to do something. The chopper begins to spin out of control, even as Anders desperately tries to make some kind of landing out of the disaster. But nothing stops the chopper from speeding recklessly toward Main Street.

* * *

"No, no, no, no what's she doing?" Masrani says, staring at the map on the main screen in the control room. The beacon of the _Indominus_ is pressing against the side of the icon for the aviary. Within seconds, it appears that it enters the aviary, at which point, the aviary icon flashes a bright red.

"Oh my god…" Lowery says, watching things unfold before him. He pulls up a feed from the interior of the aviary. Through the masses of _Pteranodon_ passing in front of the camera, he catches sight of the monster theropod, roaring and snarling at everything in sight. Its beastly display sends the _Pteranodon_ fleeing the aviary through the hole in the wall.

With a trembling hand, Vivian presses her earpiece and says, "We-….we have a breach in the aviary."

"Where's the chopper?" Masrani asks.

Lowery presses his earpiece. "Jurassic001, this is park control, do you copy?" Nothing. "Come in Jurassic001, this is park control, do you copy?" still nothing.

"Oh god," Claire whispers to herself.

* * *

Turning around inside the glass dome, she realizes that she is now completely alone. Looking up, she sees the flying monsters swarming outside the dome, and the blue creature that was chasing her now spewing black smoke. She steps away from the hole she made in the wall earlier, while also seeing the wall stretching around her currently. Feeling once more trapped inside something, she begins to let out fast, shallow breaths. She can't bring herself to go near the flying demons outside, but she finds the idea of staying inside just as unsettling. In a sudden panic, she gets a running start and charges right through the opposite wall.

Once through, her anxieties only increase when she sees that she's inside an even smaller dome, the ceiling hanging just ten feet over her head. Ducking low, she sees more creatures scurrying around on the ground. Smaller than the others, with the same, strangely-contorted winged bodies, they instantly begin flapping away at the sight of her crashing through the glass. But these ones aren't nearly as skilled as the others. Feeling a boiling hatred for them, she runs forward, stepping on those who have yet to make it to the air. She feels their delicate bones snapping and cracking under her toes. Swinging her huge hand claws about, she catches those that are too slow to get far, slashing their wings into utter uselessness. Falling down, she soon crushes them like over grown insects as well. Still most of the smaller flyers are able to get away, flocking out through the hole she just made for them into the adjacent dome. From there, they too find their way to the outside world.

And so it happens again and again, from dome to dome, each one housing its own collection of surreal, winged horrors. Some have long, upturned beaks filled with bristle-like hairs. Others have skulls stretched into bulky, cumbersome shapes. Freakiest of all, are ones tall enough to look her very nearly in the eye when standing on the ground. Their bodies are small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and yet their skulls – sitting on top of long, spindly necks - are over ten feet of long, sharp bill. Like all the others, the sheer sight of her is enough for them to catapult off the ground, right from where they sit, into the air, and out of the hole made for them.

Passing them, she fights her way into yet another dome. At first, she's unsure of where she is because this one is very nearly pitch black. But by bouncing sound of the walls of the dome, she knows that she's still trapped. The walls are tinted to prevent sunlight coming through. Once her eyes adjust, she sees that there is some light inside, pale blue, shining up from the ground. Her heat sensors tell her that she's not alone in here either.

Something lands on her right shoulder. Not even thinking, she brushes it off with one of her claws. Then something else lands on her arm. Two things land on her back. Five on her face. All around her, all over her body, small creatures begin to land and crawl on her. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands? More and more pile on top of her, even as she tries to shake them off. Even after sweeping her giant claws all over her body, the tiny flyers regroup. They try digging into her scaly skin with knife-like teeth, only to find that the outer layers of dense armor plating are too tough for them. Only after finding that she will offer them no meat, they leave her, pouring like a single massive cloud of black flies out from where she came in. These swarming terrors are the last straw for her, and she musters all of her remaining strength into ramming the opposite wall.

As the final wall of glass shatters before her, she shuts her eyes and lowers her head as the sunbeams return with a vengeance. When she finally manages to readjust to the harshness of the afternoon sun, she looks out to find no more glass walls: no walls of any kind. Instead she finds the welcoming sight of the forest. Instantly consoled, she dives into its depths.

But after only a few minutes into the woods, she feels something in her left shoulder – a sharp, shooting pain coursing through her entire body. It causes her to moan with the pain. She takes a step back and feels an instant relief from the agony. Totally unsure of what just happened, she shakes her entire body to get rid of any strange leftover sensations, and steps forward again, only for the same jolting pain to surge through her once more. She immediately recognizes the pattern.

She slowly reaches up with her right hand and gently begins to finger her left shoulder. It takes her a while, but she eventually touches upon something. Craning her neck around to look at it, she sees nothing – only bare skin. But the more she fiddles with the spot, the more obvious it becomes to her that there is something there, under her skin.

Then she remembers.

Years ago, when she was still small, her hairy captors had stuck something in that exact spot. She assumed that whatever they stuck in her came out again, but it seemed she wasn't so fortunate. Her captors were clever, that much she knew. She never understood why they did the things they did, but she learned quickly that they were not to be trusted, a belief reinforced by their latest brand of trickery. She could not move forward so long as this thing was under her skin.

Feeling it with two fingers, she begins pressing downwards into the scales, feeling the sharpness of her claws against her tough hide. It takes no small amount of effort, but she finally manages to dig those enormous claws underneath her skin and grab hold of the object. It's small, and her grip is limited, but it comes out all the same. She doesn't even bother to look at it before tossing it into the surrounding foliage.

She tentatively takes a step forward, and to her relief, nothing happens. Sniffing the air, she catches no hint of the scent she'd been following earlier, and so decides to push forward, weaving and twisting in between the trees.


	32. Chapter 30 - The Assault of Main Street

For a moment, there is nothing.

Everything in the room seems to blend together into a mass of shapeless, formless nothing. The din erupting around her melds into nothing more than white noise. She can't feel the air passing through her mouth and into her lungs. In her mind, all she can picture is a wave – a towering wall of water, growing in height as each second ticks by. Any second it could collapse on top of her, and on top of everyone. Staring into that wave, Claire is forced to make a decision.

So she makes it.

Claire balls her fists, and steps right up to the front of the control room, brushing past a dumbfounded Masrani. "Attention everyone!" she yells over the near-panic that has flooded the room, "We are initiating a Phase One, Real Word, effective immediately. Everyone who is not in this room, or is a part of ACU, is in one of the storm shelters." She looks at Vivian and says, "Get the word out to all team leaders." Then she turns to Lowery, "Get ACU up to Sector 1, ASAP. No live ammunition."

"Why Sector 1?" Lowery asks.

Claire swallows a lump in her throat, then responds, "Because the pterosaurs haven't been fed yet today." Turning around to look at the map behind her, Claire examines it until she finds the blip indicating the presence of the _Indominus_. At the moment, it is standing perfectly still right by the perimeter of the Gyrosphere valley. "What is she up to?" Claire says to herself. Turning around, she sees Owen, standing to the side, neither saying nor doing anything. "Owen," she calls out to him.

He looks up at her.

"What do you think?"

Breathing heavily through his nose, he steps up beside her, looking at the icon. "Well," he begins tentatively, "She would have probably have figured out the connection between the implant and the perimeter fences, and pretty quickly too."

"Okay, but why is she standing still?" Claire says. "Shouldn't she be moving off somewhere else?"

"She would…..unless…." he says, thinking to himself. He turns around and looks at Lowery, "You, glasses. Can you get a feed of her vitals from the chip?"

"Doing it now," Lowery says, going away at his keyboard. Looking at his screen, he gets a confused look in his eyes. "Huh….she's flat-lined….like, on everything. According to this, she's dead."

"How did that happen? The charges from the invisible fence system aren't meant to kill the animals," Claire says.

Owen shakes his head. "No…she's not dead. She clawed it out, that's why it's not moving. She figured out the chip was what was causing her pain, so she got rid of it."

Claire heart plummets into her stomach. "So now, not only is she still out there, but we have no way to track her?"

"Forget tracking her," Owen says in a quiet voice. He turns to face her, and he looks her in the eyes. "You were right. Hunting her down like that only made things worse. The focus now should be on protection and evacuation. We can think about killing her after everyone is safe"

Claire feels a surprising amount of reassurance from this simple statement. She nods and says, "Thank you." She hears a ringing from her purse. Picking it up, she sees that it's from Zara. Realizing an entire new level of horror that she hadn't anticipated, she answers. "Zara?"

"Claire," Zara says, standing by the loading platform for the Gyrosphere. "What's going on? I'm at the Gyrosphere station, the operator said they have to close the ride and everyone has to proceed to the nearest storm shelter. Is everything alright, is there a storm coming?"

"Uh, it's…..it's, uh…..look, don't say anything to anyone, do you understand?" Claire says.

"What?" Zara says, pressing her.

"There was…..an accident….during the transfer of the _Indominus_ ….she got loose."

Zara gasps, trying not let any of the guests ambling toward the monorail hear her. "What?" she hisses. "That…..that _thing_ is loose on the island?"

"Worse," Claire says.

"How could it possibly be worse?" Zara asks.

Closing her eyes, Claire says, "She…..there's been a breach in the Aviary…..the pterosaurs are loose as well."

"Oh my god!" Zara says, flinching as she looks upwards. Thankful that she doesn't see anything, she says, "What are we doing to do?"

"First, we're going to get everyone to a safe location before we handle the cleanup. Just get the boys to nearest storm shelter please."

"Okay, but that's going to take some time," Zara says.

Claire clenches her fingers. "Why?"

"They are out in the Gyrosphere Valley right now, it could be another half hour before they come back," Zara says, getting more and more anxious the more she realizes how exposed she is. "Will the monorail still be running by then?"

"Oh no….oh no, oh no, oh no," Claire says, pressing her fingers to her forehead.

"What is it?" Owen says, noticing how she looks.

Claire looks at him, and her eyes light up with hope for a moment. "Hold on just a sec," she says before saying to Owen. "Listen, I need you do me a huge favor. My nephews are out in the Gyrosphere Valley, they might not make it back in time for the monorail to take them to the nearest storm shelter. I would be eternally grateful if you can go pick them and Zara up at the Gyrosphere station."

"Gyrosphere…" Owen says, a horror dawning in his eyes.

The same horror finds its way to Claire, who looks up at the screen, seeing the blinking blip on the edge of the Gyrosphere valley perimeter. "Go, now!" Claire says. Owen nods, heading for the elevator. "And, take something with you!"

"Got it," he says, not looking back.

Going back to her phone, Claire says, "Hold on, Zara. I'm sending Owen to pick you guys up. Just please, try to stay put, and hang on as long as you can."

"And what am I supposed to do if….if…." Zara is too afraid to even finish the thought.

Claire can't finish the thought either. "Do what you need to do. Apart from that, protect my nephews."

Zara gives a heavy sigh and says, "…..Alright." And she hangs up.

Claire hangs up as well, and places her smartphone to her lips.

 _Please….please…_

* * *

 _Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately._

The cheerful voice, with its Mary Poppins-esque perk (and accent), is drowned out by the cacophony of complaining rising up from the throngs of guests gathering all around Main Street. Cleared out of all the shops, the guests idle in the streets, conversing loudly with each other about the order they've all been given by the park attendants. The sun, rising to its 3 O'clock peak, glares down on the exposed tourists, many pressed up against the sides of buildings to make the most of what little shade they have. Sun hats would be selling like crazy if the vendor hadn't shut down, as would bottled water. People remove their hats only to wipe their sweaty brows. Drenched shirts cling uncomfortably to their flabby bodies. Temperatures only rise with all of them packed together in so small a space, sharing body heat in addition to the heat of the sun. Tempers rise in proportion to the heat.

"What do you mean a storm, there's not a cloud in the sky!"

"I demand to speak to the manager!"

 _Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately._

"We're getting a refund for this right?"

"My cousin was right, this place sucks!"

"We waited for hours to see the _T. rex_ feeding show!"

 _Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately._

"I just checked my weather app, there's no storm!"

Hapless park staff members stand by, trying to herd the guests into safety, even as they continue to shout insults and veiled threats of legal action.

A girl, no older than seven years old, sits on a short stone ledge just outside of Starbucks. She wears a yellow summer dress with red flowers, and a sun hat that the family was fortunate enough to have purchased the day before. Her mother sits beside her, squeezing a bottle of SPF 30 sun tan lotion into her right hand before rubbing it vigorously on her daughter's exposed skin.

"I told you, Shannon, this stuff isn't water proof! You have to reapply after you've been out for a while!"

Shannon doesn't answer. Instead, she looks far up and way out in front, catching something faint and tiny in her vision. Once she realizes what it is, she points up and says, "Mom, look!"

The mother mostly ignores her. "Sweety, not now, I still have to get your legs, and the back of your neck-"

"Mom!" the child says more forcefully. "Look! Up there!"

"Shannon, I've told you before, don't interrupt people when they're-"

"Mom!" the child practically shouts. "Look up!" The mother is unsettled by the child's behavior, as it is most out of character. Deciding to humor her for just a moment, she turns around and looks up.

High above, soaring over Main Street, are over two dozen large, flying creatures. They don't flap their long, membranous wings much, and when they do, not very hard. And yet they glide fast and strong over the crowd, paying no heed to the people below. They hold their heads high, the backwards-pointing head crests jutting proudly from their skulls. An occasional cry sounds out from one of them.

 _Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately._

As more and more people catch the sight of the _Pteranodon_ flying over them, heading out to sea, the crowd grows ever quieter. Within moments, the phones start to come out, and pics are snapped that are up on the internet within mere moments. The pictures carry a variety of captions.

"How beautiful!" #dinosaurs #nature #JurassicWorld

"Awesome! Pterodactyls are my favorite!" #pterodactyls #luckyday

"Um…are they supposed to be doing that?" #pterosaurs #uhoh.

The people standing at the very end of Main Street, right in front of the Innovation Center all hear a loud thud crash down behind them. When they all turn around, each of them something totally unexpected. Standing as tall as a giraffe, and looking down at them from an 11 foot skull, the creature stands on four limbs; two back legs, and two folded wings. A bright blue crest sits atop its enormous head. The whole creature – save its wings – is covered in a thick layer of brown, hair-like structures.

The crowd immediately begins back away from the creature, only for another to land right beside the first one. Then another, until over 30 of these giant, gangly creatures stands before the horde of guests. Even as the people try to move away, the pterosaurs step forward, betraying their swiftness and strength, and lunge their bills at the swarming tourists. The first victim is a fat man, wearing the most undignified cruise wear, blood now dripping down his tiki-covered shirt as the enormous bill spears him in the chest. The giant azhdarchid pterosaur lifts its head back, snapping at its prey until he slides down its throat, stretching like elastic to accommodate his girth.

The crowd – so reluctant to move into the storm shelter at first – now stampedes toward where they had been directed to go over the last half hour. But so many people clogging a small entrance to a subterranean shelter makes for slow moving, and the predators continue their advance. More and more guests are speared in their beaks and swallowed whole – men, women, and even children.

The situation goes from bad to worse as another pterosaur joins the terrestrially-stalking _Quetzalcoatlus_. Less than half their wingspan, the _Thalassodromeus_ are not as dainty and delicate as their larger cousins. They swoop right into the middle of the group, striking people like living dive-bombers. Their bulky, powerful jaws snap right around peoples' necks and shoulders, the force pushing them down as the raptorial bills and flexible necks rip out chunks of flesh from their still-living victims. They toss back their heads – large and capped with bony crests shaped like the sails of a tall ship – gulping down chunks of meat.

As people scramble to get into the shelter, smaller, slower pedestrians are trampled by their fellow visitors. There are no concessions made for women or children – it's every person for his or her self. Some park staff bravely try to fend off the assaulting pterosaurs with electric prods, but the powerful, agile creatures adeptly find ways around these defenses.

* * *

The staff in the control room look in abject horror at the carnage unfolding before them. Through live feeds from the CCTV network on Main Street, they watch as huge flying reptiles descend on a panic-stricken crowd of guests. At least half the eyes watching have tears in them. At one point, a sickened Lowery keels over the trash bin next to his desk and let's go of his lunch. The only one not looking is Masrani, who stands with his back to the screen, staring down at the floor, his hands placed solemnly at his sides.

"God…where is ACU?" Claire whispers to herself.

The silence is broken by a voice over the radio.

"Park Control, this is Jurassic001, do you copy?" it's Anders' voice.

The whole room is stunned into inaction for a moment, before Vivian picks up the call. "Copy, this is park control."

"Chopper is damaged. Blades are warped, engine's barely functioning. I'm trying to bring her in for a landing. Is the landing pad is clear?"

Claire's heart races at the first hope spot they've yet had. She nods to Vivian, who says, "Affirmative, landing pad is clear, you are go for landing."

"Copy," Anders says.

* * *

As the pterosaurs continue to feast on the mob, a precession of ACU jeeps pulls up at the opposite end of Main Street, by the side of the artificial lagoon. Dozens of soldiers pour out of the jeeps brandishing tazers and tranquilizers. From the back of the battalion, Hoskins stands behind his people. He calls out, "Hamada, you are clear for clean up!"

The stout Japanese man at the head of the lineup nods, and cries out, "Fire at will!" At his command, tranquilizer darts shoot out into the screaming throngs, striking their targets almost without fail. The large pterosaurs shudder as the darts entire their skin, but they otherwise carry on with their feeding. That's when the soldiers armed with tazers rush forward, shocking those animals who to try and make a meal out of the helpless park patrons. Soon afterwards, the pterosaurs begin to drop, one by one, to the ground, their wings weakly splayed out before them. Those pterosaurs fortunate enough to avoid being shot, sense the danger and take off, catapulting themselves from standing starts using their wings as spring boards. With moments, two dozen pterosaurs are flapping away from the ACU, flying well out of range of their weaponry.

Hoskins nods. "Good work Hamada."

"Thank you sir," Hamada says.

"Alright," Hoskins says, looking around the scene, trying to get an idea of what to do. "Alright….okay, listen up. Teams Alpha and Bravo, keep an eye on the assets, be ready to move if they start to wake. Teams Charlie and Delta help the visitors into the storm shelters."

Just as Hoskins breathes a sigh of relief, something catches his eye. At first, it looks like nothing more or less than a wisp of smoke rising from somewhere in the jungle. But the more he watches it, the more deliberate its movements seem. It isn't simply lazily drifting through the air – it's cutting a path directly toward Main Street.

Suddenly realizing what it is, Hoskins eyes go frantically wide. "ABORT, ABORT!" he screams at the top of his lungs. "EVERYBODY GET INSIDE! GET INSIDE, NOW! He dives inside the nearest jeep. Everyone else looks confusedly around, looking for what it is that has him so freaked. Some of them don't bother to find out and simply follow his direction without question.

But his fears are made evident as the black 'cloud' spreads over Main Street. It soon becomes clear that this is not a cloud at all, but a swarm. A swarm of thousands upon thousands of tiny, jet-black pterosaurs with bright red wings. Their faces look almost comical – short, blunt, and with baby-wide eyes at the very tip of the snout. The dense coat of fuzz on their bodies almost gives them the appearance of flying muppets. But their ugly-cute appearance betrays their true nature. As the swarm fills up all of Main Street, the tiny flappers land on anybody not fortunate enough to already be inside. Once landed, the animals open their jaws wide to reveal multiple rows of sharp, triangular teeth. One bite shears through any fabric, even the bullet-proof clothing of the soldiers. Once through, the little flying piranhas take bite after bite of their human victims, leaving bloody holes in their flesh. For those unfortunate souls covered in dozens of these winged terrors, the effect leaves them cleaned to the bone in a matter of minutes.

Hoskins watches from inside the jeep, feeling utterly powerless to do anything. But he slaps himself in the face and says to himself, "Come on, Hoskins, you're better than this. Over 100 safety protocols for each animal….so what do we have in place for….YES!" he says, realizing what he needs. He crawls over the back seat and digs around in the trunk, pulling up storage compartments until he finds it.

Strapping it on, Hoskins stumbles out the car door and activates the flamethrower. A brilliant orange jet of flame shoots forward and upward, catching several of the flying flesh eaters and setting them ablaze. They fall to the ground within seconds. The light and heat of the flamethrower frightens many of the others off. Keeping the flames well above the heads of the visitors, Hoskins advances forward on the swarm, spraying them with burst after burst of red hot fire.

Finally, the swarm gets the message. They leave their victims in mid-bite, and depart as a whole away from Main Street toward the Innovation Center. Once they've cleared the scene, the reveal the scraps of their feasting – skeletonized corpses, skin-less bodies stripped of flesh with almost surgical precision, and the still-living, screaming bodies of victims covered in puncture marks. Even the other pterosaurs weren't immune from the attack. At least one _Thalassodromeus_ had been reduced to nothing but bones.

Hoskins smiles as the swarm retreats. But as it begins shrinking away, he flinches as he sees what looks like another swarm. His fears are quelled upon seeing that, this time, it really is just smoke. Smoke billowing from the engine of the Jurassic001 chopper. The warped blades are beating at an awkward rhythm, and there are still pieces of dead and diced _Pteranodon_ caught between them. Still, even as it barely maintains control of itself, it approaches the landing pad.

Just as the swarm intercepts it.

* * *

Anders can see the landing pad. It's so close. He keeps a tight grip on the steering stick, even with the sweat trickling between his fingers. He'd lost the two soldiers during the rush of the _Pteranodon_ , but he at least managed to keep the chopper from collapsing to the ground. All he had to do now was bring her in for a safe landing.

Something flashes in front of the glass. He doesn't catch it at first, but then another one zooms past. Then another. Then five more. Ten more. 20. And they don't just appear in front of the wind shield either. They fly in through the open hatch on the side, filling the cock pit. Hundreds of jet-black, red-winged miniature flyers swarm the front of the chopper, flying right into the side of Ander's face. They show no interest in feeding on him for the moment, but the sheer number of the over taking the chopper all at once is more than enough to disturb Anders' concentration. He can't see anything but shifting black bodies passing in front of his eyes.

When they finally clear, Anders doesn't see the landing platform. All he sees are the solar panels and the radio tower located just behind the Innovation Center.

Ten feet in front of him.


	33. Chapter 31 - Indominus vs Gyrosphere

Getting a notification from snapchat, Zach thumbs around the icons on his phone, until an image pops up of his girlfriend, making an insipid duckface, and holding a sign that says, "Miss you." Zach's initial thought is something along the lines of _How does she want me to respond to that_? There isn't anything on hand to give a complimentary answer. Unable to think of any other options, Zach simple takes a selfie, and sends it to her with the caption, "Miss you too." If his half smile doesn't communicate his disinterest, nothing will.

Zach glances at the monitor sitting in between he and Grey in the Gyrosphere. The clock tells him that they've been out there for a little over 30 minutes. He sighs, staring back out of the glass encircling his brother and him. Though the initial sight of the dinosaurs had been spectacular to behold, the impact it had on Zach began to wear off rather quickly. To him, there were only so many minutes he could watch dinosaurs wandering around, seemingly not doing anything of much interest, before he was wishing they were back at the station.

Grey, by the most extreme contrast, couldn't keep his eyes off of the creatures. To him, keen observation had the immense payoff of observing some truly unusual, sometimes even totally unexpected behavior on the part of the dinosaurs. The longer he watched, the more he learned about their daily routine, and putting it all together in his head was a task in and of itself. At first, he noticed that the _Parasaurolophus_ herd he'd seen sleeping under a tree were split between half of the individuals sleeping, and half of them wide awake and on the lookout. But at some point, the two halves switched positions. This reminded Grey of a similar behavior that he noticed among Canada geese, where half the flock would rest while the other half keep would keep watch for trouble.

Grey also paid close attention to the dinosaurs' different temperaments. The larger, long-necked sauropods didn't seem to have a care in the world. Grey chalked this up to their small brains lacking much in the way of complex behavior, and the fact that they would have little to fear, even if they were protected in captivity. They had little brain power to spare, and all of it had to be devoted to eating. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the _Othnielia_ seem positively neurotic in their movements, jerking their heads to every side at even the slightest disturbance of the wind. But even apart from their neurosis, they are far from peaceful. Despite traveling together, they seem strangely anti-social, constantly bickering and squabbling with each other over tiny scraps of food amidst a feast of plenty. Sometimes these confrontations turn quite violent.

The _Stegosaurus_ were dim, but capable of bursts of aggression. Traveling alone, they are accompanied by the flocks of _Othnielia_ , foraging at their heels. But if the little browsers get too close, then the Stegosaurs stamp their feet and swing their tails at them. The agile little creatures are able to avoid a direct blow with ease, but the lack of provocation on their part made these sporadic assaults all the more memorable. The Stegosaurs aren't any friendlier to their larger neighbors. Grey notices that, like some large mammals today, they are near-sighted. When another large herbivore sneaks up right in front of them, they shake their heads, and swing their tails back and forth, turning so that their sides face the new-comer. The display shows off their vivid back plates.

The other resident thyreophoran – the _Ankylosaurus_ \- are pretty much the same in temperament. The only difference is that, when they feel threatened, they bang their tail clubs against the ground, creating a surprisingly –loud booming sound.

The most ill tempered by far are the _Triceratops_. All of his life, Grey had seen the _Triceratops_ as a stout and noble hero, a valiant knight with a shield and sword built right in, standing against the fearsome reign of the Tyrant Lizard King. But observing them here, Grey is surprised to see that they are, in fact, basically big bullies. The brilliantly-colored males charge at other dinosaurs seemingly for no reason. They seem particularly interested in tormenting the _Othnielia_ , chasing them around while snapping their beaks. The _Triceratops_ are also the only dinosaurs to show any outward aggression toward the boys in the Gyrosphere. Grey had made the mistake of looking a larger male directly in the eyes. When he did, it shook its head back and forth, stamping at the ground with its forefeet.

But Grey's observations are cut short when the monitor begins flashing red and black. A light buzzer sounds out inside the ball. They see the phrase, "RIDE CLOSED," flashing in red letters against a black screen. Accompanying the text is a woman's voice, reciting in a soft, English accent, "Due to a containment anomaly, all of our exhibits are now closed. Please disembark, and return to the loading platform for further instructions.

Both boys look at the screen with confused looks. Looking around the valley, everything seems as serene as ever. But Zach simply shrugs and says, "Oh well, guess we gotta go back." Punching up a map of the valley on the screen, he sees a blip indicating their position, as determined via GPS. He uses the map as a guiding point to leading them back toward the station.

"But why?" Grey asks. Not only is he disappointed about the excursion being cut short, but the circumstances don't make any apparent sense.

"I don't know," Zach asks, mildly annoyed. "Maybe we'll find out when we get back. I bet Aunt Claire knows."

The announcement continues to be recited by the computer. The wording sticks out to Grey, who takes each word and analyzes it intensively in his head. What is a _'containment anomaly?'_

A few minutes after they begin the journey back, they hear something off in the distance. It's very faint, but the sheer distance it covers alerts them to how loud it must be. At the same time, they can see off toward the East, a huge fireball shoots upward toward the sky, over the tree-covered hills.

"What the fuck?" Zach says, sitting up in his chair.

"You shouldn't say fuck!" Grey says, not catching a whiff of the irony.

"You just said it now, dingus," Zach says.

"I only said it to say you shouldn't say it!" Grey retorts.

Zach ignores the nonsensical answer, but mostly because the GPS signal has gotten lost. "Shit," he says, "we lost the signal."

"What do you mean?" Grey asks. "Are we lost?"

"No, we'll just keep going straight, that will take us back there," Zach says, pressing down on the stick.

* * *

Zara stands by the fence to the Gyrosphere valley, feeling the wind as it blows through the empty line stands. The wind rustling through the grass is the only sound she hears, and she prays it stays that way. When her eyes aren't fixed on the horizon, her neck is craned backwards and upwards, keeping a weather eye out for anything that might be approaching from behind. The sight of a single, solitary bird nearly sends her into a panic. She doesn't bother looking at her watch. The time is irrelevant here.

She hears something behind her, a low growling sound. She spins around in place, shooting searching looks at everything in sight. Then she hears it again, the growling sound getting louder and loader. It appears as if it's approaching from up the nearby road.

Zara breathes a sign of relief when a land rover rounds the corner and pulls up beside her. Her heart jumps two beats when she sees Owen sitting in the driver's seat. "Oh thank God," she says, putting a hand on her chest.

Owen gets out of the car. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"I'm okay, just….a little nerve-wracked is all. I'm still waiting for the boys to show up, but there's been no sign of them yet," Zara says.

"It's a big valley," Owen says, looking out into it.

"Oh my god, Owen, what is going on?" Zara says. "Claire tells me the new dinosaur is loose on the island, and now there's been a breach in the Aviary? I mean…..what does that even mean?"

"It means the pterosaurs are all loose as well," Owen says. Seeing she doesn't understand completely, he says, "the Pterodactyls, the flying ones, they're all free now too."

"Yeah, I know what they are," Zara says. "I mean, how did it happen?"

Owen's chin sinks a little as he prepares his words carefully. "When the….when the _Indominus_ got loose, she was delayed from reaching the park by the Western mountains. Masrani and I thought we could head her off before she made it to the park by taking her out with an M-134 mounted to the Jurassic chopper. But she ran for it, and they chased her right through the Aviary."

"Dear God…" Zara says. "And what about that explosion, just now?"

"No clue," Owen says. "Anything that's happened in the last half hour, I'm totally blank on."

She turns back to the valley. "Come on, boys….let's go, let's get out of here!" she says in a quiet voice. Just then, Zara's phone begins to ring. Picking it up, and seeing that it's from Claire, she answers without hesitation. "Claire?"

"Zara!" Claire says, relieved to hear her voice. "What's, what's going on, any news? Any updates?"

"Uh….yeah, Owen got here at least, so I'm not completely alone."

"Okay, good, good….and still no sign of the boys?"

"Not yet," Zara says. "But what's going on, what was that explosion from just a little while ago, what was that?"

Claire's voice grows even grimmer. "That was the Jurassic001….crashing into the power complex."

"What?" Zara asks so frantically, that Owen tries to listen for Claire's words from the other line. "So…wait, does that mean that the power's down?"

"Not yet," Claire says. "The back up generators kicked on soon afterwards, so we still have power. The generators can keep the park going for two weeks, running only basic, necessary systems."

"Okay…" Zara says, starting to calm down. "Okay…and obviously the cell phone towers weren't destroyed."

"No, cell towers are good, wifi's good….what's not good are the radio towers."

"The radio to-…." Zara stops dead in her words. "Claire….are you saying the invisible fences are offline?"

"WHAT?" Owen shouts, unintentionally into Zara's ear. "Oh, sorry," he quickly adds.

"That's right," Claire says. "As of now, any animal not contained in a physical barrier is now free. Cretaceous Cruise, Tree Top Trek, Galli Valley,-"

"And the Gyrosphere," Zara finishes for her.

"Yeah," Claire says through a sigh. "Anyway, that doesn't matter right now. As far as we can tell, all remaining guests are safe in the storm shelters. The ferry's been called. The process can only move so quickly, but a mass evacuation has begun."

"What about the dinosaurs?" Zara says.

"ACU is setting up perimeters around the park and the resort to try and keep the animals out and away from the shelters. They're not our focus right now, our top priority is getting people off of this island as soon as possible."

Zara nods. "Okay…well, good luck with…everything."

"Thanks Zara," Claire says, "But honestly, I think you're going to need it more than I will. I'll see you soon."

"Sure," Zara says, before hanging up.

"So things have really gone from bad to worse, huh," Owen says.

"More like from worse to shit," Zara says. "The invisible fences are all down. Any dinosaur not contained in a physical enclosure is now officially on the loose."

"Well," Owen says, "if we're lucky, maybe they won't notice that.

"What do you mean?"

"Well remember, the animals have been conditioned to avoid the perimeter fences all their lives. It's very unlikely that they'll just wander out. I mean, it's not as if they know the fences are off."

"Right, right," Zara says nodding. "Still, the quicker the boys make it back here the better."

* * *

Putting her phone away, Claire's attention turns back to the control room. "Lowery," she says, looking at him, "Any word from ACU?"

"Yeah, Hoskins says that the perimeter is nearly done. They just have to organize the line along the Southern half of the park."

"Any sightings of….anything?" Claire asks.

Vivian answers. "Nothing but an occasional pterosaur. As far as we can tell, all of the dinosaurs are staying within their established spaces. None have roamed outside yet."

Nodding, Claire sighs and says, "Okay, good. With any luck, it'll stay that way." Just as she finishes her phone rings once again. She picks it up expecting to see Zara's name, but her blood chills to a startling cold when she sees Karen's name instead. She'd give anything in the world to not answer, to once again use work as an excuse to blow off her sister. But she knows that the sooner she can get this over with, the better. Swiping to answer, she slowly brings the phone to her ear and says, "Hello?" as if she doesn't know who it was.

"Claire!" Karen says, her voice not quite loud but intense nonetheless. "What the fuck is going on? Scott and I were in the middle of a meeting with our attorneys when my phone starts going off like crazy! Everyone in the family is texting me, asking for news on you! When I ask what's going on, they tell me to look at the news. So what's the first thing I see when I check for news online? I see a video of pterodactyls attacking people!"

"Karen please," Claire says, putting a finger to her forehead. "We've had a major security breach, and now nearly half the animals on the island are free. I have to organize a massive, island wide defense and evacuation effort."

Karen takes a deep breath through her nose and says, "Alright, yes, you're right. I didn't mean to get in the way. Just, please….tell me one thing. Tell me that Zach and Grey are alright." Karen waits nearly a minute, but doesn't hear anything. "Claire," she says again in a low voice. "Please, tell me that Zach and Grey are alright."

"I…..don't know," Claire says.

"You don't know?" Karen asks. "How do you not know? You were supposed to be spending time with them, that's kinda why they're there at all!"

"Karen, I told you today was going to be a busy day for me. I sent them out with my assistant. Zach and Grey were in the middle of riding one of our attractions when all hell began to break loose. They haven't made it back yet, but I'm sure everything is fine."

There is a very long pause over the phone while Claire awaits Karen's answer. "Listen to me, Claire," Karen says in a low, frighteningly cold voice. "You will make sure that my two children make it off of that island alive and safe….or I will make sure that nobody in this family talks to you again."

"Karen," Claire says.

"EVER," and Karen hangs up.

Claire's arm falls slowly to her side. All of her muscles seem paralyzed as a numbness begins to spread over her body. Her phone slips out of her hand and hits the ground beside her feet. Claire cannot see any hope for her future now. The breakout of the _Indominus_ ensured that she'd be fired. The escape of all the pterosaurs and their attack on Main Street ensured she'd never be hired by anyone else. The loss of the invisible fences ensured she'd be sued into financial oblivion. But through all of that, she knew that she could at least count on her family to always welcome her back no matter what. That, more than anything, was the point of family. But if those two boys didn't make it off Isla Nublar alive, then she knew that she would be excommunicated from the family until the day she died (if not longer).

The dread slowly building in her all day is now complete.

* * *

She lingers cautiously at the edge of the jungle staring out over a wide, grassy meadow. Sniffing the air, she catches nothing that appears dangerous. But the valley is filled with scents, pungent and distinct. She knows for a fact that something is out there, but what that something is she can't guess. The smell is different from the flying demons that tormented her before. But having seen such creatures, she only fears what other, worse monsters may lurk out in the world. Finally, with still no sign of a threat in sight, she steps out onto the grass, lumbering out into the valley. Being out in the open once more, completely exposed, puts her on edge. She tenses every muscle in her body, and opens all of her senses to any hint of potential danger.

The first of her senses to tingle at an oncoming sensation is hearing. Faint though they are, she hears the sounds of grunting, growling, bellowing, chirping, squawking, and rumbling. So many different kinds of sounds bouncing from one end of the valley to the other. She shakes her head, as if to clear her mind from all the noise, but it proves useless. Her frustration grows as she snaps her jaws at the cacophonous nothing. When she can't take it anymore, she charges forward to find the source of all this racket, and put an end to it.

Coming up over the crest of a tall hill, she looks down to see a field crawling with yet more unbelievable, nightmarish creatures. Clad in tough, scaly hides, necks stretched to impossible lengths, heads twisted and warped into disgusting shapes. Huge pieces of bone stick out of their faces, or out the backs of their heads. Strange growths sprout from their backs. As they swagger around the valley, they swing their fat, pot-bellies over their squat legs. They look diseased. Mutated. Tortured and mutilated.

She can stand the sight of them no longer. Stretching her jaws open to their widest point, she lets out her loudest, most powerful roar yet. The roar carries far over the valley, and every head looks up toward her. They stare at her, unmoving from their spots, unsure of what to think of this newcomer.

Springing from her spot, she charges down into the valley. Even then, most of the monsters still don't know how to react to her, and just continue staring at her even as she comes barreling toward them. When she finally gets too close for comfort, many of them start to flee. One that doesn't is a fat, lumbering beast with a tiny head and bones sprouting from its back. Upon seeing her, it doesn't run, but instead turns to its side and starts swinging its tail from side to side. The plates on its back start to rock violently back and forth, an effect made all the more disturbing by the blood-red eye spot blotting each one of them. It's as if 17 eyes are staring at her. She stands still, mesmerized by their movements.

She is broken from her trance when the monster's tail, tipped with four long spikes – not unlike her own – collides with her sides. The force of the strike knocks her a few steps to her side, but her armor shields her from impalement.

Growling hatefully, she glowers at the spike-tailed monster. She steps backwards a few steps, out of the range of its weaponized tail. Then, she raises her own tail, far longer than her adversaries, and tipped not only with four spikes, but with a bony club as well. She stretches her whip-like tail far back to gain as much momentum as possible before releasing it in a single motion.

A loud crack splits the air, accompanied by a dull thud as the tip of her tail strikes the beast's side. Almost in an instant, the creature lies dead on its side, its tail still twitching slightly. Her club has almost collapsed the ribs on her left side, and two of her tail spikes are embedded deep inside of it. The spikes are in so deep that she can't pull them out at first. So she steps on top of the fallen monster, and uses its corpse as leverage to dislodge her tail. When it finally comes out, the whole thing is covered in black gore dripping all over the grass as blood begins pooling around the carcass.

The death is a signal to everything else living in the valley. A signal to run.

* * *

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Zach asks frustrated, his hand pressing down on the stick as far as possible. He feels a vibrating in his pocket, and picks up his phone to see that Claire is calling him. Answering, he says, "Aunt Claire?"

"Zach!" she says in a breathy voice. Her entire body relaxes as she says, "Oh thank god….where are you guys?"

"We're in the….the hamster ball, thing….we're heading back now," he says. "Why, what's going on?"

"Okay, it's….it's…." Claire stutters, wondering where to begin, "Well, I'll tell you when you get back. The entire island has been evacuated into the emergency storm shelters."

"Oh shit," Zach says, as if properly awake for the first time today. Grey turns to face his brother at the sign of his concern. "Is there a storm coming?"

"Not…not exactly, no, just…..when you get back to the station, Zara and another co worker will take you back to the Control room. They'll probably fill you in on the situation when you get back."

"Aunt Claire…" Zach says, growing concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"….No...no, everything is not alright. But please, for now, just focus on getting back to the station, alright? Once you make it back, Zara and Owen will fill you in on the details."

"Uh…..okay…okay, we're on our way. This damn thing only goes 5 miles an hour."

Grey sees something flash out of the corner of his eye. Turning to find it, he sees a small flock of _Othnielia_ bolting past them across the field. This is by far the fastest he's seen them run. As he watches the small bipeds, an Ankylosaur begins shuffling awkwardly at what looks like the fastest it can move, in the same direction as the _Othnielia_. From the other side of the sphere, the _Parasaurolophus_ from under the tree are up and trotting swiftly in the same direction as the other two species.

Both boys feel a slight tingling sensation traveling from their bottoms up through their spines. The slight tingle changes into a rigorous shaking, accompanied by a loud rumbling sound. Turning Southwards, Grey sees more dinosaurs, from all species in the valley, frantically running straight toward them.

Claire notices the silence on the other line. "Zach," she begins, hoping that it's just bad reception, "Is everything alright?"

"I…I don' t know," Zach says. "The dinosaurs look…spooked. They're all running."

Claire's face turns a deathly pale. "Can you see what they're running from?"

Scanning the valley for any signs of an obvious disturbance, Zach sees nothing but more dinosaurs making their way toward the Gyrosphere. A trio of Othnielia races past them, coming just about 20 feet from the glass ball. "I don't see anything…uh….the uh…..the dinosaurs can't come close to the balls, right?"

"Why what's going on?" Claire says, digging her fingernails into her scalp.

"Nothing, it's just….the dinosaurs look like they're getting pretty close to us as they run by…"

Claire actually rips out a hand full of her red hair as she says, "Nevermind that! Just keep going! Get to the station as soon as you can!"

"Uh…okay," Zach says, starting to feel genuinely scared now. He hangs up, and puts even more pressure on the stick, though the Gyrosphere is already going at top speed.

"What's going on? What did she say?" Grey asks, squirming with anticipation.

Seeing how antsy Grey already is, Zach decides it's best not to say anything more at this point. "Uh…it's nothing, she's just checking to see that we're alright."

"You said something about a storm, is there going to be a storm?" Grey persists, getting more anxious as it appears the dinosaurs are getting closer.

"No, okay? Everything's fine," Grey says as a careless sweep of a Camarasaurus' tail passes over them.

More and more dinosaurs continue to lumber past them, moving as fast as they can. The ground is violently shaking underneath them, as if an earthquake has been unleashed. Dirt and grass are kicked up and thrown against the side of the Gyrosphere as their huge feet pound at the earth. A few close shaves are enough to tell the boys that any security precautions that may have been in place before are long gone. Grey is trying as hard as he can to not break out in a fit of sobs, but nothing can stop the tears running down his face. Zach begins hyperventilating as the colossal titans race by them, and as the Gyrosphere is powerless to move any faster, or even to maneuver out of their way.

Their look runs out when a bull _Triceratops_ collides face first with the Gyrosphere, ramming it at top speed with the full brunt of its enormous skull. The strength of the glass withstands the assault well, without taking so much as a scratch to the surface. But the force of the animal is enough to send the Gyrosphere spinning like a top off course. Grey is screaming off the top of his lungs, while the shock has completely winded Zach. Zach tries to regain control, playing with the stick, but the _Triceratops'_ collision overpowers the controls of the Gyrosphere.

The Gyrosphere spins right into the path of an _Apatosaurus_. The ball approaches the giant just as it raises its right front leg. The horrible timing ends with the _Apatosaurus_ kicking the Gyrosphere at full force, sending it flying low over the plains, spinning furiously further North, and farther away from the loading platform. The kick does more damage to the Gyrosphere than the _Triceratops_. Although the glass remains unfazed, the Gyroscopic mechanism malfunctions. When the Gyrosphere makes contact back with the ground, it doesn't stay upright, and the boys drift sideways and upside down.

As more and more dinosaurs come stampeding through the valley, more of them come into contact with the failing Gyrosphere. An _Ankylosaurus'_ club, a _Camarasaurus'_ tail, three more _Triceratops_ skulls. Each one sends the Gyrosphere flying another several hundred feet, at speeds far beyond the sphere's top speed of 5 miles per hour. With no more gyroscopic stabilizing, the Gyrosphere spins around wildly as it skips across the grasslands. The two boys are hurled around like rag dolls trapped into their harnesses. Their frail bodies get beaten and bruised against the hard, metallic interior. It's only a matter of time before one of the boys blows chunks all over the glass ball. It's Zach.

Their topsy turvey journey comes to an end when the Gyrosphere crashes into a concrete wall, running the length of the valley and standing over 30 feet tall. Zach and Grey are suspended upside down in their seats, their bodies drenched in sweat and – in Zach's case – covered in vomit. Both boys sit in their seats, totally stunned by the force of the stampeding dinosaurs. However despite how beat up their bodies are, the Gyrosphere itself remains relatively intact. Though the gyroscopic stabilizers are gone, the glass remains without even a scratch in its surface, and the even the motor is still viable, though useless when it's facing up.

When the stars finally leave their eyes, the sight of the valley comes into view, save with the grass growing out of the sky. Most of the dinosaurs scatter when they come up on the wall, but not all have such sense. An old female Apatosaurus, her skin dull and sagging with age, comes to the wall and seems totally incapable of thinking of something to do. When she turns around, she and the boys come face to face with the gigantic, snaggle-toothed horror that kicked off this panic to begin with.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Zach exclaims through barf-stained teeth.

"I have no idea!" Grey says, totally unable to place the image of this creature anywhere in his memory.

The two giants face one another, sizing each other up for the inevitable assault. The old sauropod swings her necks back and forth, slowly at first, gaining momentum to make her movements faster and stronger. In addition, she stamps the soil fiercely with her right forefoot, clawing at the dirt with her single thumb claw.

The monster dinosaur watches her movements carefully. That neck looks like it could prove incredibly dangerous, especially with those spikes sticking out of the sides. Keeping her teeth and claws nice and visible, she raises her tail high over her head and begins writhing it like a snake, coiling in anticipation for a strike. The display sees to unnerve the old girl, who summons all of her remaining strength to raise herself up to her fullest height, balancing herself tentatively on her back legs, as well as using her tail like a tripod. In this position, the 90 foot behemoth towers over all others. Kicking her front legs forward, the dares her attacker to make the next move.

The Indominus sees a soft underbelly fully exposed. Lowering her bottom jaw, she squirts a spray of noxious chemicals right into the Apatosaur's chest. Instantly, the scaly skin burns to a deathly black color, smoke rising from the singed wound. Letting out an agonized bellow, the Apatosaurus topples backwards, slamming its 45 tons of weight directly against the solid concrete wall, which cracks at the force of the creature crashing into it. The Indominus seizes the opportunity. She crouches down low in her spot, and launches herself on top of the fallen colossus, adding another 15 tons of mass. Together, the two creatures prove too much for the wall. A column of concrete comes crashing down onto the grassy earth.

Zach and Grey watch as the Indominus stands over her victim, slashing at it with her sickle claws, and digging into the gray hide with her rows of hideous teeth. Her snout is already shimmering with fresh blood gained from attacking many other dinosaurs before now. The taste of blood excites her, causing her to dig deep into the gaping flesh wounds in the Apatosaurus' side. Most poignantly of all, the poor sauropod still shows signs of being alive, limply pawing at the ground around her, even as the grass is stained with her own blood. She doesn't stop her attack until the prey finally lays still and lifeless.

Once she finishes with the Apatosaurus, she slowly raises her head and turns her gaze to the two boys hovering helplessly in the Gyrosphere. She loses all in interest in the mountain of fresh meat lying at her feet, and begins to step slowly toward them. She glares at them, as if they themselves personally assaulted her. Grey's mind is flooded with terror, his heart pounding against his breast so intensely that he can't even breathe.

She lowers her enormous skull, allowing her to look directly into her eye. It studies them extensively, going up and down each of their bodies. Grey can see the intent in her eyes, the subtle element of cunning lurking behind those yellow orbs. Seemingly finding whatever it was she was hoping to find, she raises her head again and opens her jaws. She tries to wrap her gaping maw around the outside of the Gyrosphere, giving Grey and Zach a close up look at her drool-covered dark purple tongue, and the path leading from her gullet down to her stomach. Her hot breath condenses on the outer surface of the glass.

But as she tries to clamp down on the sphere, her numerous yellow teeth slide off the smooth rounded surface. She tries again to get a grip of the Gyrosphere by her teeth, but the spherical surface offers her no point of leverage, like the jaws of a dog sliding off of a beach ball. Snarling through her nose in frustration, she instead reaches down with her clawed fingers and picks up the Gyrosphere containing the two humans. She carries it over to the remains of the concrete wall and begins smashing it continuously against the jagged rocky surface. Still though, the Gyrosphere proves resilient.

Growing even more furious, she carries the Gyrosphere beyond the wall, into the jungle on the other side. She bashes against one tree, smashes it into another, and crashes it into a third. Still, the glass ball withstands all of its attacks. Seeing that this strategy is all but useless, she sets the Gyrosphere down on the ground by her feet, turning it over in her fingers, twiddling with it as if trying to understand how it is put together. Her attention is drawn to the pair of rings supporting the glass. Coming up with a new strategy, the Indominus opens her mouth and squirts more fuming chemicals onto those rings. The corrosive cocktail weakens the integrity of the metallic supports, causing the glass pieces to begin jiggling in place. Once again, she reaches down and picks up the glass shell and begins banging it against the ground. The glass remains intact, but it begins to slowly dislodge from its place in the metallic rings.

For the first time, Zach and Grey begin to realize that they are now truly in danger. Any second now, the glass will fall to the ground, and there will be nothing in between them and every single one of those teeth and claws.

Zach falls into the kind of frantic thinking that can only be accomplished with a surge of adrenaline. They need to get out of the Gyrosphere, before the monster can get to them. First thing is first – the seatbelts have to come off. He quickly unbuckles himself, and reaches over to undue the harness strapped around his brother. Grey's eyes are shut as he screams a terrified scream toward nothing. Once free of their restraints, the two of them slide off of their chairs, and onto the back plate of glass, opposite the face of the creature staring down at them.

The final strike of the Indominus dislodges the plate the two of them are laying against, and they fall out of the Gyrosphere. Landing on his back, Grey's eyes fly open, not understanding what's happening around him. But Zach grasps his brother's shoulders and shouts, "GO! RUN!" Scampering to their feet, the two boys flee into the depths of the surrounding jungle.

It takes the Indominus a moment to realize that the two human boys are making a break for it. Once she does, she wastes no time in tossing the empty remains of the Gyrosphere aside and racing off in pursuit. They boys have the field advantage, being able to more easily weave in between the twisted trunks of the forest. The Indominus must try far harder to keep up with them, pushing away those trees that she can't squeeze in between. The lower parts of the mid layers brush up against her shoulders.

Just as the boys think they've escaped the marauding meat-eater, their route takes them to the edge of a roaring waterfall, thundering down into a pool of blue green water. The distance between the precipice and the pool is at least 50 feet. The darkness of the water around the waterfall tells Zach that the water there is deep – deep enough to jump into. Grabbing Grey by the shoulders, he says, "We have to jump are you ready?"

"I can't!" Grey says instinctively, even as the Indominus comes crashing through the undergrowth, heading straight for them.

"You have to!" Zach says, putting one hand on Grey's back and taking his brother's right hand in his. "Alright, 1, 2, 3!" On the final number, he jumps off of the cliff, carrying Grey with him.

As their hair clears the ground by the top of the water fall, the Indominus' jaws clamp shut around empty air. The timing is so close, that Zach can feel the shifting air of the jaws slamming shut just above them. The fall itself passes by in less than a second, and within a moment, cold water envelops their bodies as dark depths pile on top of them. Trying to hold his breath with steadiness, Zach wraps his arms and Grey's torso and pulls him toward the waterfall. It isn't until they are behind it, hidden in a small alcove behind the raging falls.

Staring down at the powerful moving waters, the Indominus feels unsure. The sheer force of the waters themselves are intimidating to her. She's never seen water move in this way before, and had no idea that it could be so strong. She has no desire whatsoever to get caught up in these waters. And staring down into the pool below, she sees no sign of the two small humans. She expected that their heads would pop up at some point not long after they plummeted downwards into it. She waits. And waits. And she waits even longer. But finally, when no sign of the humans appear, she shakes her head and moves onwards in search of something more interesting.


	34. Chapter 32 - Stampede

Zach and Grey tread water in the pool behind the thundering falls. It's been a long time since they heard the booming footsteps of their predator fade away, but neither of them is eager to venture out from behind the falling wall of water. After several more minutes pass, Zach turns to Grey and says, "Okay….you ready?" Grey shakes his head, and hugs the wall of the alcove. "Hey," Zach says putting a hand on Grey's shoulder, "Come one. It's going to be fine, I promise." Still, Grey shows no sign of moving. "You know, we can't stay here forever," Zach says. This seems to be the thing that wins Grey over, and he swims closer to Zach.

Zach keeps one hand on his brother's shoulder, and together, they pass under the waterfall. Their first instinct is to look up at the cliff above, and both of them fully expect to see the snarling, toothy grin of the monstrous dinosaur staring down at them, just waiting for them to expose themselves. But all they see is the continuous stream of falling water. Moving across the pool, Zach and Grey make their way to the muddy, reed-filled shores, clambering up the dirty, slippery slopes toward dry land.

Whey they feel their bodies supported by solid ground, they collapse onto their bellies and start breathing heavily. Their lungs strain to take in the much needed air, their strength zapped by their prolonged time in the water, as well as the shock of the recent attack. Grey breathes so unevenly that he begins coughing.

Zach pats Grey firmly on the back, helping him to get it all out. "You okay?" he asks. When Grey finally stops coughing, he nods. Looking at Grey, Zach sees for the first time how fragile and vulnerable the small body of his brother his. Grey had been so close to being ripped to shreds just a few minutes earlier. Warm water from his eyes begins to mix with the water dripping down his face. He grasps Grey's shoulders and pulls him into a tight hug. When he feels his brother's body in his arms, he begins to weep.

Grey is unsure of there this gesture is coming from, but he returns the embrace nonetheless. "O….kay…..are you feeling alright?" Grey asks.

Zach leans back, relaxing his arms around Grey. He begins laughing, even as tears continue pouring from his eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright, ya dingus!" he says, smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess," Grey says, still a little unsure. "You're…you're hugging me."

"Yeah…and?" Zach says.

"Zach, you never hug me," Grey says very matter of factly.

Zach bites his lip as more tears force their way up. "Grey!" he says, "You almost died! Of course I'm gonna hug you."

Grey actually feels a little bitter. "You know, you don't always have to wait until I'm going to die to give me a hug."

Zach gives a small sigh through his nose. "Look, Grey," he begins, "I know I'm not a perfect brother, okay? I know that I ignore you, or tease you-"

"Or yell at me," Grey says, crossing his arms.

"But-" Zach continues, "it's just because I'm so caught up in my own shit that I just sometimes forget about being a brother. And yeah, it does suck that it took us almost getting killed by a dinosaur for me to remember, but you know that…..that….you know, I….I love you." The last three words take some stomaching in order to say out loud.

Grey leans forward, and puts his arms around his brother and says, "I love you too," in a quiet voice.

Only once their moment is finished that they realize that both of them are shivering from the cold, and that their clothes are dripping with mud. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Zach sniffs and says, "Okay, so…..now what?"

"Well, we have to make it back to Aunt Claire, right?" Grey says.

"Yeah, but how. Do you know how to get back from here," Zach says. Looking around at the unfamiliar jungle surrounding them, he asks, "Where are we anyway?"

Grey reaches down to the pack he keeps strapped around his waist. He unzips the waterproof pouch, and rummages around the items inside – snacks, Clean-ex wipes, assorted medications – and finds the park map they got as part of their travel package. "Hmmm," he says, looking over the map, "We were here, in the Gyrosphere Valley," he says, pointing to an open valley in the Northwest of the park. "Then we got chased and ended up going through a wall…."

"I don't see a wall anywhere on there?" Zach says, peering over Grey's shoulder.

"I think that's what this is," he says, pointing to a thick black line running horizontally through the island, cutting the far North of the island off from the rest. The whole section is labeled 'Restricted Area' in big red letters.

"Restricted Area?" Zach says out loud. "What's up here?"

"This is the Isla Nublar Nature Preserve," Grey says. "This section of the island was set aside as a nature preserve for Isla Nublar's native wildlife. No one is allowed here."

"So there's not dinosaurs up here?" Zach asks.

"Not counting the birds," Grey says, "As well as that…..thing that attacked us."

"Yeah, what the fuck was that thing anyway? I have never seen a dinosaur that looked like that before."

"Me neither," Grey says, known how much more weight that statement has coming from him. "I think that was supposed to be the new dinosaur. The one that was supposed to premiere next week."

"Holy fuck," Zach says. "What the hell kinda dinosaur did they make?"

"I don't know," Grey says. "Maybe it's a new species not known from the fossil record, like when they first created the _Piranhapteryx_. All I know for sure is that out of all the dinosaurs I've ever heard of before, none of them looked anything like that."

They hear something snap to their right, like a twig or branch. It sends both of their heads twisting toward the disturbance, only to see nothing. "Do you think it's still out there?" Zach says, nervously. He looks at Grey, who still looks as if the creature could come crashing through the undergrowth at any moment. He leans down and lowers his voice, "Hey," he says, snapping Grey out of his fearful trance. "It's okay. We're going to make it back just fine, alright?"

"What if it finds us again?" Grey asks.

"Then we'll get away. We already did it once, right?" Zach says, managing a small smile. Grey doesn't seem comforted by that thought. "Grey," Zach says, trying again. "As long as you're with me, nothing is going to happen to you. Do you believe that?"

"No," Grey says instantly.

At first, Zach is disheartened. But looking at his brother, he can't help but laugh. "Okay then….how about this. If that thing finds us again, it'll eat me, and then you can use that time to get away."

Grey laughs a little and says, "Sure….it'll probably get sick and die from eating you."

Zach playfully punches Grey on the shoulder, but only enough to make him giggle. "Okay, come on. Let's get out of here," and he leads Grey away from the water's edge, further into the surrounding jungle.

"Where are we going?" Grey says, pushing past some larger ferns.

"Well," Zach says, ducking under some low hanging limbs. "We know that we're in the North of the island, right? So if we just head South, we just reach the wall, and then we just find the hole where we got it, and we'll be back at the park."

"How are we supposed to find our way back to the Aunt Claire?" Grey asks.

"She said she was taking us to the control room. I bet that's where she is too."

"It's gonna take forever to get there, isn't it?" Grey says, a hint of a grumble in his voice.

"You'd rather stay here?" Zach says. Grey doesn't answer. "You have a compass in that thing?" Zach says, pointing to Grey's pouch.

Fishing inside again, he soon finds a basic compass. Looking at it carefully, he finds South. "South is that way," he says, pointing to the sheer face of a rocky cliff.

Zach puts his hand on his forehead and says, "Okay….that's not going to work….I guess we have to find a way around here first. Come on, better get started." Without another word, the two begin their journey further into the rainforest, following the line of the cliff as it leads them westwards toward the coast.

* * *

Zara sits with her back to the Gyrosphere valley, casually swinging her legs back and forth, the backs of her heels gently hitting the wooden fenceposts. Owen leans against the land rover, arms crossed and staring down at the ground. Already, the December sun crawls further and further toward the West, drawing their shadows longer along the grassy ground. Most still air occasionally spasms with a gust of wind, but things are otherwise quiet.

"Say, what's this I hear about this being your last week here?" Owen says, suddenly jump starting the conversation.

Zara looks up as if waking up. "Wha-…oh yeah, right. Yeah, January 1st was originally going to be my last day….though, after today, I doubt most of us lasting much longer…."

"True," Owen says, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Just decided it was time to move on with life?"

Zara nods. "Pretty much. It's…it's really, sort of, long up and coming, really. I met a man, name's Alex, and we're going to get married once I move off the island."

"Oh hey, congratulations!" Owen says, clapping his hands a couple of times.

"Thank you," Zara says. "That's more than I've gotten from…..most people on the island."

"Most people, huh?" Owen says. "Most people here meaning Claire, I'm guessing?"

Zara smiles. "I've never really been good at subtlety."

"Eh, subtlety's overrated." Owen says, waving his hand. "Just say what you mean, makes everything easier."

"Is that what you do?" Zara asks.

"Well, it's the ideal I try to live by anyway. There's so much pressure to lie so as to avoid certain uncomfortable truths. I can't say I don't give in every once in a while, but….eh, I know better. The truth always comes out."

"You sure about that?" Zara asks.

"Sure am," Owen says, nodding.

"But," Zara says, thinking, "…if someone had lied, and the lie was never revealed, you wouldn't know it, would you?"

"I-" Owen begins, before being halted by logic. "…..alright, Ms. Smarty Pants…I guess that's a point. But still. Lies have a bad track record of being kept in long run."

Zara is about to say something, but she is stopped before she can utter a single word. A slight tingling sensation begins to travel up her spine from the fence pressing against her bottom. The tingle spreads to every corner of her body. At first, she thinks this is numbness, or a pins-and-needles sensation that came from sitting on the hard wood for too long. But the feeling remains when she drops down onto the ground, traveling up through her feet. When she sees that Owen apparently feels something as well, she knows that this is something real.

"What is it?" she asks him. "An earthquake?"

Owen scoffs. "Right, just what we need right now. As if everything on this island trying to kill us wasn't enough, now the island itself is pissed off."

As the seconds tick past, Zara can feel the sensation growing. It starts as a tingle, but soon grows into a shaking. Not long after, a low rumble begins building from behind the rolling hills of the Gyrosphere Valley. The sound Owen to look out over the grassy hills, as if waiting for something.

Within seconds, a line of dinosaurs rolls over the hills like a tidal wave crashing over dry land. Hundreds of tons worth of lumbering, shuffling, and galloping bodies barrel down toward the loading platform, heading directly for Zara and Owen. Their frantic, terrified yellow eyes betray the panic driving them forward. As they push ever closer, animals inevitable crash into one another, mountains of flesh and fat rippling at the force of the sheer tonnage being thrown around. The ground beneath their feet is ravaged as the dirt and grass go fling at their presence.

Owen's reaction is instantaneous. "GO! GO! RUN!" he yells at Zara, pulling her by the arm to the land rover. "Get in!"

 _You don't need to tell me twice_ , Zara thinks to herself, and she hops into the passenger seat.

Starting up the vehicle, Owen slams his foot down on the gas, propelling the car forward at slow, but growing, speeds. It is soon speeding down a service road back the Innovation Center, just as the line of herbivores comes stampeding past the loading platform, trampling anything still standing in their way.

"Zara, call Claire," Owen says. "Tell her that a stampeding herd of dinosaurs is heading directly for the park."

"Already on it," Zara say, her phone already up by her head.

Within two rings, Zara hears Claire's voice on the other end. "Zara! Do you have the boys?"

"No," Zara says, pushing past the subject, "And we've got far bigger problems now. There's a stampeding herd of dinosaurs heading right toward the park!"

"Oh no, no!" Claire says, her voice dropping to something feeble and hopeless. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"It's not joke!" Zara insists. "Owen and I are on our way back, but there are dozens of dinosaurs heading your way, maybe hundreds."

"Okay…okay, okay," Claire says, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll call Hoskins, let him know they're coming. Just get back here as soon as you can."

"On it," Zara says, hanging up.

Back at the control room, Claire points to Vivian and says, "Vivian, get me Hoskins on line 1, put him on speaker phone."

"Yes Claire."

Within moments, Hoskins voice comes over the speakers. "Hoskins."

"Hoskins, you've got to reinforce the perimeter in the Northwest corner. The dinosaurs from the Gyrosphere Valley are stampeding directly toward the park."

"FUCK!" Hoskins calls out. "I can't do that, Dearing! I've lost half my team, ACU is spread too thin! This perimeter is meant to safeguard against individual dinosaurs, not a whole goddamned stampede!"

"Well you've got to do something! The dinosaurs are going to be there soon, and unless you've got reinforcements, you're men are going to get flattened!"

There is silence at first. "I'll do my best, Dearing. But this is not a scenario we were ever prepared to deal with." And he hangs up.

* * *

Main Street is as quiet as it is in the dead of night. No music, no cheerful announcements, no word on the next upcoming shows. The fountains are shut off. The lights inside all of the shops and restaurants are down. Trash is carried by the wind from over turned trash cans and down the street by a casual breeze. Even the hum of the street lamps is absent. All down the paved street, there are human corpses scattered about carelessly, most of which are lying in pools of drying blood, flesh stripped from their bones.

The only living humans are the ACU troops stationed in an encircling line around the outer edges of the Main Street district. The have abandoned their tranquilizers and tazers for live ammunition, pointing small assault rifles outward toward the now-wild portions of Isla Nublar. A call from their commander told them that something was coming their way. Something big.

It isn't long before the rumble and the slight shaking makes itself known to them, followed by the snapping and crashing of wood. They squeeze their guns tight, holding them close as beads of sweat pour from their pores. Even beneath all the gear piled on top of them, they can feel their anxiously beating hearts.

The forest in front of them begins to tremble. Trees shiver in their roots before something pushes through them, and the come crashing down. Within moments, the tree line gives way to a line of enormous, scaly bodies, dozens and dozens of gigantic, lumbering behemoths. Upon seeing them, the ACU soldiers begin unloading their weapons into the oncoming mass of dinosaurs. Their bullets have no trouble hitting their marks, and bringing down the specific targets. But there are so many dinosaurs, and only so many guns to point. Soon after their begin firing, the stampede overcomes the thin line of ACU troops guarding Main street. The luckiest are the ones who died instantly upon being stepped on by an _Apatosaurus_ or _Camarasaurus_. Those that are caught in the brow horns of a _Triceratops_ , or swatted with the tail of a _Stegosaurus_ or _Ankylosaurus_ aren't nearly so lucky. Bones splinter on impact. Limbs and joints twist into impossible contortions. Organs are squished and punctured against broken bones.

Once past the ACU, the dinosaurs pour down like a river down Main Street, herded by the surrounding buildings. Anything not sheltered by the buildings – street lamps, statuettes, water fountains – is ripped from the streets, tossed thousands of feet from where they were, crashing through windows into two story buildings. The bodies left behind by the assaulting pterosaurs are crushed into blood pulps without so much as a look back. After reaching the end of the street, the dinosaurs continue raging both left and right, running along the edges of the three artificial lagoons housing the park's collection of marine reptiles.

A group of ACU jeeps from the opposite end of the perimeter skid to a halt as they race to check out the disturbance. But all they manage to do is drive right into the path of the rampaging dinosaurs. The combination of speeding jeeps and stampeding megafauna makes for a chaotic mix. One hapless driver veers sharply to the right to avoid colliding with an _Ankylosaurus_ , but ends up crashing through the now-impotent electric fence surrounding the center pool. Despite slamming on the breaks, the driver pilots the jeep over the edge and into the salt water lagoon. Another jeep tries to avoid a charging _Triceratops_ by shifting into ignition and slamming on the breaks, only to ram right through the fences enclosing Gentle Giants Petting Zoo. The jeep speeds right through to the other side, and crashes bumper first into the side of The Hall of Creepy Critters. A spooked _Camarasaurus_ stumbles carelessly into the walls of the Pachy Arena, forcing the _Pachycephalosaurus_ inside to scatter for cover.

Three jeeps speed down a street next to Carnivore Corner, not noticing the _Apatosaurus_ coming up their side. At first, the _Apatosaurus_ doesn't notice them either. But when she eventually does notice the three jeeps speeding right up along beside her, her small brain panics, and shifts her into defense mode. Raising her long, whip tail, a ripple shoots through the length of the tail as it comes swinging around, striking all three jeeps at once. The jeeps are flipped effortlessly into the air, and smash directly into the façade of Carnivore Corner.

The force of three jeeps, tossed with the awesome power of the sauropod dinosaur, completely compromises the integrity of the building. The supports collapse, along with the surrounding walls. Glass viewing windows shatter. And as the building crumbles around them, the thirteen species of predatory dinosaur – now free from their confines – all scramble to escape the collapsing walls. Not each individual makes it out alive, but every single species – big or small, scaly or feathery – manages to escape.


	35. Chapter 33 - Regroup

The land rover pulls into the employee parking lot behind the Innovation Center. Once stopped, Owen and Zara hurry up the elevator to the Control Room. When they step inside, everyone is silent. There are no fingers typing away at keyboards, no radio chatter going on overhead. Nobody is looking at their computer screens, some of which have been shut off. The stillness in the room is almost eerie, considering what's going on outside.

"If you're looking for Claire, she's in her office," Lowery says, not looking up from the floor.

Both Owen and Zara look left to where Claire's office is. Owen puts a hand on Zara's shoulder and says, "How about you just hang back for a sec…." Zara says nothing, but makes no objection, so Owen walks over to the door, and knocks gently 3 times.

"Yeah?" Claire's voice calls out from behind.

"It's Owen," he says just loud enough for him to hear. "Can I come in?"

There's a pause before she says, "Alright."

He slowly opens the door, seeing Claire sitting at her desk, slumped over. Once he's inside, he closes the door behind him. Claire holds her head in her hands, streaks of red hair between her fingers. Owen isn't sure what he should say, so he puts it off by asking, "Mind if I take a seat?"

She doesn't look up at him as she carelessly waves her hand and says, "Go ahead."

He pulls out the chair, making sure to lift it fully instead of pulling it across the ground so as not to disturb the room. When he sits down, the creaking of the chair becomes the loudest sound in the room. He rubs his hands on his thighs trying to think about what the best thing to say is.

But Claire saves him the burden. "I tried calling my nephew's phone again. It went straight to voicemail."

"Now," Owen says, putting up his hand to try and calm her. "That could mean a number of things. Maybe he just forgot to charge it?"

"Teenage boys do not forget to charge their phones," Claire says.

"Uh….okay….maybe he just dropped-" Owen begins.

But Claire interrupts him, "Owen, please. Now, you're a smart guy. Look at all the pieces. Put them together, and tell me what happened."

He sighs heavily. He very quickly puts the pieces together, though he has no desire to say it out loud. But Claire's eyes command him to. "The Indominus' implant was last seen on the perimeter of the Gyrosphere valley, which is where your nephews were when the evacuation began. Based on what your nephew said during your previous call, something spooked the dinosaurs in the valley, and that startled them into a stampede. The boys never made it back to the station, and now their only cellphone is dead."

Claire closes her eyes. "It got them….you know it's true."

"I….I admit, it's looking pretty bleak right now….but we don't know what happened for sure. I mean, they were in a Gyrosphere right? Those things are meant to withstand blunt force impacts exceeding that of any animal on this island, even the Indominus. Really, there's no safer place they could have been."

"Right, just like this park is mean to be able to contain these animals," she says bitter, clawing at her hair. "They're dead….you know it's true."

"No, I do not know it's true," Owen says, leaning forward. "And neither do you."

Claire sits back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. "You were right, Owen." Then she lowers her head again to look at him. "About the Indominus, you were right. We should have put her down years ago. Hell, more than that, we should never have bred her to begin with."

"Yeah, well….hindsight is 20/20. Besides, you weren't wrong….if you didn't go ahead with it, then – sooner or late r- they would have gotten rid of you and replaced you with someone who would. See, I'm used to thinking that decisions her on Nublar begin and end with you, since you're the boss. Sometimes I forget, that there's a whole level over you, one even more removed, and that cares even less about the animals."

"Doesn't change the fact that I proposed the idea to the Board. I signed off on it. I was….I was all on board with this whole thing….no matter which you look at, I am at least partially responsible for sending my nephews to their death."

"You know…." Owen says, rocking uncomfortably in his chair, "If there's one thing I've learned from today, it's just how hard it is to be responsible for making the tough decisions."

"What do you mean?"

Owen looks even more uncomfortable. "Mounting the gun on the chopper and going after her was my idea. That makes me responsible for the breach in the Aviary, and any other breaches in containment that have happened today. All those people on Main Street, all the ACU, the….I stepped into your shoes, and made a call. And holy fuck did it back fire."

"Yeah, well….it's still going to be me they come after when this all over. If the dinosaurs don't kill me, the lawsuits will."

"Why were your nephews here in the first place?" Owen asks.

"My sister and her husband are getting a divorce. She wanted to send the boys somewhere while they work out the legal shit. So, remembering that her sister runs the World's Greatest Theme Park, she decided to dump them here."

"Talk about bad timing," Owen says.

"And now that they're dead, she's going to excommunicate me from the family for the rest of my life," Claire says, wiping her nose. "You know, honestly, I could handle everything. Everything, the lawsuits, the shame, the possible charges….I could handle all of that, as long as I had a family to go back to. But after this….I'll have nothing."

"Remember, Claire," Owen says. "We don't know that they're dead."

"Yeah, well even if they are still alive, I can't go out there and find them. I have to oversee the evacuation procedure."

A bustling sound outside the office distracts both of them from the conversation. Claire looks at Owen, as if asking him if he knows what it is. But he simply returns the look. Both of them get out of their seats and head out of the office. They see Hoskins standing by the elevator door, along with 19 ACU soldiers. When he sees Claire, he shuffles right over to her. "There she is," he says, getting right up in her face. "You listen to me, Dearing. Do you see these 19 people here, huh? You see them?" Claire doesn't answer. "These 19 soldiers are all that remains of Asset Containment here on this island. I have lost dozens of good, brave men and women. I am not losing any more people until we come up with a plan!"

"Hey! Back off Hoskins!" Owen says, stepping in between them. "You think she wanted this whole island to go to hell?"

"This island is her responsibility!" Hoskins spits back at him.

"No," a voice calls out from a dark corner of the room. They all turn to see Masrani, standing tall and walking toward them. "Before Claire, this island is my responsibility. I have the final say on what happens here. If you want to blame anyone, you blame me."

Hoskins backs off slightly, but presses on. "Look, I don't care who wants to take the blame. All I want is a plan. A plan to get everyone off of this island, that doesn't involve killing any more of my people."

Claire nods slowly, thinking about all thing things going on simultaneously. How to organize them, how to navigate them. She looks at Lowery and says, "Lowery, how many of the attractions have been breached?"

Lowery quickly checks his computer and says, "Of the 12 animal attractions, 9 of them have suffered breaches. The only three still secure are Coastal Creatures, the Jurassic Sub, and _T. Rex_ Kingdom. That means that, of the 73 species of extinct animal that live on this island, 63 are loose."

"When is the ferry supposed to get here?" Owen asks.

"The first one is supposed to get here in about an hour," Lowery says. "Ferries can hold up to 100 people, there are currently 47,000 people on the island, including staff."

"Okay, Vivian," Claire says, looking at her. "I want you to call the Harbor Master for the ferry, see if they can spare any more boats to aid in rescue."

"Yes, Claire," Vivian says, looking up the phone number.

"Now, next problem – how do we get guests to the ferry landing? The monorail doesn't run on emergency power, and some guests are nearly 30 miles from it, and that includes young, injured, and disabled guests."

"They can't exactly walk all the way," Owen says. "It wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park."

"Right, so we're going to have to drive them," Claire says. "Biggest vehicles we can find – jeeps, trucks, vans."

"Mobile vet units," Owen says. "Those things are designed to take a pounding."

"Who are you going to get to drive?" Hoskins asks.

"I will," Masrani says, drawing everyone's eyes. "I've sat back and done nothing while this whole place has gone to hell. It's time for me to do something."

Most people exchange half-believing looks at one another. Finally, Owen asks him, "….Seriously?"

"I – yes seriously!" Masrani says, almost offended "I own this park, everything that's happened today can be traced back to me. I can no longer sit around and do nothing as more and more innocent people lose their lives. It may not be much, but it's better than nothing."

Claire nods, "Alright…..alright, good, happy to have you. Lowery," she says to him, "I want to organize a team of drivers. Call for willing volunteers, if there aren't enough…choose people from the resort staff," she says, eliciting a small laugh from the control room. When Owen looks confused, she says to him, "it's a not-so-friendly rivalry."

"How does ACU factor into this?" Hoskins asks.

"Okay, new policy," Claire says. "We don't bother the dinosaurs, they don't bother us. We don't go hunting them, we don't harass them. It's not as if we're their main interest anyway, they're just animals. So, we'll assign one armed ACU trooper per vehicle. They can protect their party from any animals they might encounter."

"What if there's another stampede?" Hoskins asks.

"I seriously doubt that," Owen says. "The dams have burst, the animals are more dispersed now. Besides, a car's going to be faster than any dinosaur."

Hoskins mulls the plan over as he shifts from one foot to the next, hands at his hips. "I'm still not sure about this…"

"If you have a better plan, I'd like to hear it," Claire says, folding her arms.

After an awkward pause, Hoskins finally says. "Alright, you got me. I'm gonna contact headquarters, see if we can get some reinforcements, maybe some bigger guns. Let me know when you've got 19 drivers." And he and the soldiers head back down the elevator.

* * *

As the fading rays of the afternoon sun are filtered through the midlayers, casting a dark green hue in the shadow of the forest, Zach and Grey continue their trek to find their back out of the Restricted Area. The journey has thus far proven far more difficult than either of them had anticipated. Although they tried to keep their course as Southward as possible, the broken island terrain made it all but impossible. When not faced with sheer walls of rock, they were standing on the edge of deep crevasses, or blocked by dense layers of undergrowth. Finding ways around these obstacles has proven extremely difficult, and causes their course to be skewed further toward the West.

But though their journey is long and arduous, it's not without its perks. The jungle scenery is lush and beautiful, filled with exotic plants dripping with life. Vivid flowers blossom in those patches between the trees were sunlight reaches the forest floor. Even the mushrooms are distinct and colorful, growing out of mossy tree trunks. Over their heads, tropical birds flap from branch to branch, feasting on the succulent fruits and hard nuts growing in the canopy. All around, as the sun dips further into the Western horizon, a chorus of frogs begins to serenade them, ringing out from all sides.

Zach takes one step forward, and a loud cry rings out into the jungle. "Aw, shit!"

Grey, walking behind him, tenses up. "What, what is it?"

"It's….it's shit!" Zach says, lifting up his right shoe to reveal a sneaker covered in brown fecal matter. "Big pile of it right here. Watch your step," Zach says, moving along his way.

Zach's words spark an interest in Grey. He moves to where Zach pointed out the dung, careful not to step in it himself. Zach wasn't kidding – this is a big pile. It's about two feet in diameter, and a foot high. The soft texture tells Grey that it is relatively fresh, but the flies already buzzing by it hint at it being a few hours old.

Zach looks back and sees Grey examining the scat. "You coming, or what?" Zach calls out to him.

"Zach, come here, take a look at this," Grey says.

Sighing a little, Zach trudges through the ferns back to the pile. "What?"

"Look at how big this dung pile is," Grey says.

"Yeah, and?" Zach says.

"And," Grey says "this is supposed to be a nature preserve right? No dinosaurs."

"Right," Zach says.

"This pile is too big to have been made by any native animals here. An island this size can't support a population of animals big enough to leave a scat this big, not for long at least."

"Maybe it was made by the thing that attacked us?" Zach suggested.

Grey shakes his head. "It's not that big." Then, has Grey peers through the overlying ferns, he sees something next to the pile. Parting the ferns, he sees an imprint in the soft ground – three toes, splayed slightly. The middle toe is the longest, there's a pronounced heel in the back, and the toes are tipped in pointed claws. The footprint is not a lone – a trackway circles the pile before heading off into the jungle.

"What kind of dinosaur is that?" Zach says.

"I don't know specifically," Grey says, trying to measure the size of the track, and coming to a rough estimate of 47 centimeters. "It's a theropod, that much is certain. From the size of the track, I'm guessing it's approximately 6 or 7 meters long, about 500 kilograms. Apart from that, I can't say for certain."

"Well, where did it come from?" Zach asks. "Did it wander through the hole in the wall, form the park?"

"Could have," Grey says. "But, all of the predators on the island are housed in Carnivore Corner. Even if one had escaped, I can't imagine how it made it all the way out here."

"So where did this one came from?" Zach asks.

Grey tries to think of a simple answer, but none make themselves apparent. "I don't know….let's just hope it doesn't find us."

As the two boys carry on, the shadow the forest grows darker over them. The loss of the sun, coupled with the exhaustion of the day, starts to weigh on the two boys. Their brains switch to autopilot as they walk, making it harder for them to keep on a course. They start tripping and falling more frequently over raised roots, and bumping their heads into low-lying limbs.

Zach takes a moment to rest against a tree. As he looks around, breathing heavily, he catches sight of something nestled in a grove of trees not far away. At first, Zach thinks that it's a rock formation, growing up from the ground. But the more he looks at it, the more he realizes that it's too straight to be a rock, the surfaces too flat. After staring at it for a few more minutes, he realizes that the tall vertical edges are those of a building.

The revelation wakes him up enough to be curious. "Grey," he says, "motioning for his brother to get closer. "Take a look at this."

It takes Grey a moment to see the building, but when he finally does, he starts walking over to it. Zach wants to show a little more restraint, but he follows nonetheless. Their path is blocked by a dark, standing pond, covered in dead leaves and lily pads. Going around the pool, they come across a small set of stairs leading up to a tall doorway. Around the stairs, leveled concrete pools lie empty, filled with nothing more than heaps of dead plants. As Zach and Grey go up the stairs, they have to be careful of the accumulated layers of dirt and decomposing plant matter that's built up around them. The doorway itself is twice their height, and above it is a slab of stone, the image of a _Tyrannosaurus_ skeleton carved into it. The building is far wider than they thought, extending both left and right more than 100 feet on either side. Rows of columns line the sides of the building, supporting hut-shaped roofs. Some of the roofs still have vestiges of old, dried grass clinging to them.

Coming up to the doors, they see that they are already open, giving them easy access to the inside. Stepping inside, they see a dark, circular room, lit with nothing more than the last rays of the sun shining through the windows encircling the ceiling. The jungle as long since retaken the room, as there are whole groves of plants growing out of the floors and around the walls. Still, Zach and Grey make out a wide, open room, with a stair case running up along the curving wall to an upper level. There are a number of strange structures lying around on the floor, but neither Zach nor Grey can make them out at first.

Grey steps forward, and feels the ground shift under his foot. Catching his footing, Grey looks down to see what he slipped on. Shifting the object under his toe, he sees what looks like a long, black cloth banner. As his eyes adjust further, he makes out a letter. In the pale light from above, it's difficult to make out at first, but he discerns an R, red and outlined in yellow. Brushing off more debris from the banner, he exposes more letters. U. L. E. D. Growing more curious, Grey picks up the banner and pulls it up. It is very long, but from the section that he holds in his hands, he makes out the words:

-AURS RULED THE EA-

Growing ever more curious, Grey puts down the banner and makes his way toward the structures on the floor in front of them. Reaching for one at random, he picks it right up off the floor, feeling a cold, rocky texture in his hands. It's heavy, but the shape becomes immediately familiar. It's a rib. A rib over three feet long. Looking down at the others, he sees that most of the ribs are actually longer than this one. Apart from ribs, there are limb bones, shoulders, hips, vertebrae, and even two skulls, one from a titanosaur, the other from _Tyrannosaurus rex_. The bones are fossils, or else casts, and bare the dull brown color of petrified remains. Except for a few scattered white bones. As far as Grey can tell, these small skeletal remains are from a smaller theropod, but these aren't fossils. These are actual bones, from an animal that died within the last century.

"Grey," Zach says in a quiet voice that bounces off the circular walls. "Grey, I….I think this is left over from the first park."

"Jurassic Park?" Grey asks, looking around the room. "What's it still doing here?" Now excited to explore further, Grey reaches into this pouch and pulls out the blue Jurassic World flashlight that came with their travel package.

"I don't know, maybe they didn't want to disturb the ecosystem or something," Zach says, as the flutter of a bird's wings sounds off from somewhere inside. "Or….they left it as a tribute, or something, I don't know."

"This is so cool!" Zach says, his head turning around the room. "You think Aunt Claire knows this is here?"

"Why wouldn't she, she runs the place," Zach says. He opens his mouth to let out a wide yawn. "Alright dude, I think we should spend the rest of the night here."

"But I want to get back!" Grey says.

"Grey, it's getting darker out. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go stumbling around in the middle of the jungle, at night, with a bunch of dinosaurs on the loose out there. Let's just stay the night here, get back to it in the morning."

Grey tries to protest, but a yawn from him as well prevents it. "Okay….but where are we gonna sleep?"

"Come on, we can find some place in here," Zach says, leading Grey across the room. On the opposite side is a faded mural, the paint peeling off in many places. It depicts a forest bathed in the rays of dawn, a small group of _Parasaurolophus_ forage in the leaf litter, a male overlooking two smaller females. Standing behind them, underneath a fallen tree is a tall, bipedal scaly creature. Tall as a man, it stands with its neck full erect, long snout pointed forward. The lizard-like face stares out from the mural with a single yellow eye, viper-like slit for a pupil. The hands are tucked close to the body, palms facing downward like a rabbit.

The two boys follow the mural to the left as they start to explore the inside of the old ruins. There isn't a whole lot to see inside, and there are many signs that the building hadn't even finished construction when it was abandoned. There is a large dining area on the other side of the mural, with dozens of tables and chair over turned, or else standing statically in positions that haven't changed in over 20 years. A long table against the wall is covered in things that may or may have been food at one point. Passing the dining room, they come to a door with a single, circular window at eye line. Peering inside, Zach sees what looks like an industrial kitchen with rows of long metal tables and utensils hanging up by the walls. It appears there is a door to a walk-in freezer on the other side of the kitchen. Seeing nothing inside of any help, Zach and Grey move on further inside.

The further they go inside, where sunlight from windows can't penetrate, the few plants they see growing in the building. Where before there were plants, now they see mostly mold and other fungus, growing in the darker corners where tepid water pools from outside.

Going down a flight of stairs, they come across a room behind large glass windows, shattered by what look like bullet marks. The supposition is confirmed when they peer inside and see a shot gun lying on the floor next to three discarded shells. Apart from that, there are a few desks with computer sitting lifelessly on top, the sort of bulky, fat computers that are only seen in under funded public schools. In front of them are cushioned chairs sitting on top of wheels standing motionlessly on soft carpeting.

This room looks to Zach like the closest thing that he's seen to comfortable since they arrived. "Come on, let's sleep in here," Zach says, climbing through one of the shattered windows. As they get inside, they see a wide screen monitor at the front of the room, and a number of smaller monitors next to it. "This must be the old control room," Zach says, plopping down on a chair in front of a desk with three monitors sitting next to each other, a number of small curios and knick-knacks on top of each one. There's something haunting about seeing the dusty black mug, emblazoned with the original Jurassic Park logo.

Grey drops his butt down in the chair in front of the adjacent desk. Almost immediately upon making contact with soft cushion, he falls asleep. Seeing his brother comfortably drift off to slumber as well, Zach follows suit, and is snoring within seconds.


	36. Chapter 34 - The Kids Found

_**CNN News Update**_ : _Bringing you the latest on the evolving situation unfolding on Isla Nublar, so far nothing solid or official has come off the island since the videos posted to social media a few hours ago. Attempts to contact park officials for any word on the incident have thus far proven unsuccessful. But we are keeping a close eye on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites for more word from the victims on what exactly happened at Jurassic World, and how the park staff plans on dealing with it._

 _Jurassic World is owned and operated by the Masrani Global corporation, and has been operational for over ten years without a single security incident. However, earlier today, a swarm of what appear to be pterodactyls descended upon park patrons in the park's shopping and dining district, leaving an untold number dead and injured. Since then, all guests and the majority of staff have been evacuated into the island's storm shelters for their own protection._

 _The pterodactyls escaped from the park's Aviary at approximately 4:48 PM Eastern Standard Time. Guests who were in the Aviary's enclosed viewing area posted pictures and videos online of what appears to be a large meat-eating dinosaur crashing into the Aviary through the glass wall that separates the pterodactyls from the outside world. After crashing through each chamber of the Aviary, the dinosaur left holes in the wall large enough for the pterodactyls to fly through._

 _So far, experts have been unable to identify the dinosaur seen in images and videos posted online. According to paleontologist, Dr. Darren Naish, the dinosaur, "…Does not match any animal known from the fossil record. I'm assuming this is the park's much-anticipated new dinosaur." Dr. Naish is referring to the_ Indominus rex _, Jurassic World's newest attraction, originally set to open on January 1_ _st_ _, 2016. However, in an attempt to build up hype around the new attraction, the park has not released any images of what the new dinosaur looks like, making it impossible to confirm the identity of the mystery dinosaur for certain._

 _According to Dr. Naish, this isn't the first time that an unknown dinosaur has been bred by the geneticists at Jurassic World. "The small pterosaur,_ Piranhapteryx _, was first described in 2010 from specimens bred on Isla Nublar. It wasn't until 3 years later that specimens of the same animal were found from the fossil record, from Portugal. It could be that this dinosaur, the_ Indominus _or whatever it is, is another as yet unknown species."_

 _But Dr. Naish is skeptical. "What really looks weird to me is how the dinosaur is pronating its hands; that is, rotating the wrists so that the palms face toward the body. It was impossible for carnivorous dinosaurs to rotate their wrists in that way. So, I'm starting to get suspicious as to just what this mystery dinosaur is, and I'm starting to wonder if there might not be some genetic tempering on the part of the park's geneticists."_

Claire's eyes scan the screen of her phone, her finger running down the article. Each paragraph causes her stomach to lurch further and further down inside. She had forgotten just how fast word could travel nowadays. Already her great shame had been broadcast to the entire world. She's starting to get nauseous.

Looking up from the article, Claire looks out over the control room and says, "Has anybody gotten any calls from any news outlets?"

"Oh nonstop," Lowery says. "They've been coming in ever since we started evacuation."

"Oh," Claire says, a little caught off guard. "Well, has anyone said anything to anyone?"

Vivian shakes her head. "No, we've been blocking them all. We're too busy trying to get people off the island, we don't have time to deal with their bullshit."

"Oh," Claire says, now pleasantly surprised. "Well then….very good…"

"Just got the last driver," Lowery calls up from his desk. "Barry Colbert, from the raptor training program."

"Alright!" Owen says, clapping his hands. "Good man, Barry."

At that moment, Hoskins and the remainder of the ACU steps into the control room from the elevator. "We all set?" he calls out.

"Just got the word," Claire says. "We've got your 19 drivers."

"Awesome, okay, so how are we going to break this up?" he asks.

"There are five storm shelters," Claire says, going up to the main screen with a map of the park on it. She begins pointing to various spots on the map. "There's one here, behind the Pachy Arena, one by the Mosasaur Stadium, one behind Carnivore Corner, one next to Jurassic Thrill Zone, and one by the resort. Nineteen vehicles mean four vehicles assigned to four shelters, and three to the last. The one by the resort will get three because it's closest to the ferry landing, and also because there are fewer people there."

Hoskins looks at the map, nodding to himself. "Okay…alright, Hamada, Johnson, Manson, Hayes – you take the Pachy Arena, you're Sector 1. Anderson, Caulfield, Murphy, Holtz, you take the Mosasaur stadium, you're Sector 2. Howard, Carrier, Evans, Nelson, you take Carnivore Corner, you're Sector 3. Patel, Martell, Witton, Wisseau, you take Thrill Zone, you're Sector 4. And Hough, Capo, and Lamari, you take the resort, you're Sector 5. Let's waste no time people, Ferry should be arriving any minute. Let's move 'em out!" he says, barking at his people.

"Speaking of which," Claire says, turning to Vivian, "Any luck with the Harbor Master?"

"Yes, 3 additional captains volunteered to help with evacuation. Their boats are small, but it's something."

Claire nods and sighs with relief, "Okay good…it's happening, Claire, it's happening….now we just have to wait…."she whispers to herself.

"Oh wait, before you guys go," Owen calls out to them. "When you find Dr. Wu, don't take him to the ferry landing, bring him back here…I have a few questions…"

The ACU move out, distributing their positions with the nineteen drivers. Within a matter of minutes, the 19 vehicles are loaded with one driver and one ACU trooper each, and they speed off toward the storm shelters.

Owen takes a seat in an empty chair up against the wall. When he looks at Claire, he sees that she's looking down at her phone, the screen blank and dark. He watches her, waiting for her to press something. But she continues to stare vacantly at it, as if waiting for it to come alive and tell her something. Finally, getting both curious and impatient, he gets up from his seat and goes over to her. He doesn't get close to her, but keeps a respectable distance. "What are you doing?" he asks bluntly.

She half turns to him and says, "I'm getting ready to call my sister, to tell her….." she can't finish it.

Owen feels as if someone just punched him in the gut. He does not envy Claire having to tell her sister that her two sons are dead. No wonder Claire was just staring at the screen. He gets anxious just thinking about it. "Don't-" he says, almost out of instinct.

Claire turns fully toward him and says, "Why?"

"Because….Because we don't know for sure," Owen says, almost futilely.

"Owen," Claire says exhaustedly, "We've already been through this-"

"I know, I know, but….but, maybe we should got look for them….just to be sure," Owen says.

"Owen, I told you, I can't leave here, I have to oversee the evacuation-"

Then Lowery speaks up. "Go on, Claire."

Both she and Owen turn to look at him. Unsure, Claire says, "Wait…what?"

"You should go, Claire. GO out and look for them. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't try."

"But…but what about the evacuation?" Claire protests.

"We can handle it," Vivian says, smiling at Claire.

"I…" Claire begins, turning to look at the rest of the control room. All the other staff are looking up at her, smiling, many giving encouraging nods.

"Just go," Lowery says.

A wide smile breaks out on Claire's face. Warm tears gather in the corner s of her eyes before they begin to slide gently down her glistening cheeks. Her heart feels like it's ready to burst, and shower the whole room with her appreciation. She resigns herself to simply saying, "Thank you…thank you all so much!"

"Okay, come on, let's go," Owen says, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her toward the elevator.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on a sec," she says stopping him for a moment. "You have a gun right?"

"Yeah, it's in the car, come on!" Owen says.

As they step out of the elevator, and travel down the hall toward the employee parking lot, all seems eerily quiet, with nothing to hear other than the echoing bangs of their footsteps against the hard ground. Stepping out into the parking lot, the sun has just set, leaving the sky a dark green-blue, without a cloud in sight. The wind is calm, and the air warm. There is no sound to hear outside other than the breeze through loose ferns and palm fronds. It would be very tempting to look at the nearly empty parking lot and think that all was well on Nublar.

Getting into a small car, Claire and Owen pull out into a service road heading West toward the Gyrosphere valley. The border of the valley is marked by a series of towers. The fact that the tops of the towers aren't flashing with red light is the first indication that something is wrong. The next is the fact that some of the towers have been ripped from their posts, many lying flat on the ground. Pulling off of the dirt road and into the valley, both Claire and Owen feel the car bounce up and down over the uneven terrain. In the growing darkness, the headlights of the car become all the more important in navigating their way through the valley. The land is almost devoid of life. The only hint of the animals left behind are more than a few bloodied corpses left behind by the _Indominus'_ rampage, frozen expressions of terror fixed on their faces. It wasn't uncommon to find an animal with a missing limb, only to find the limb itself several feet away.

The car pulls up toward an eviscerated Parasaurolophus carcass. When the head lights fall on the remains, a flock of small, fuzzy scavengers pull their bloody jaws out of the body and stare up at the approaching car. The brown pelts are stained red from their fervent scavenging. As the car gets closer, all 37 of them scatter away from their feast, frightened by the growl of the engine.

With the day giving way further and further to night, the shadow around them begins to close in. It soon becomes nearly impossible to see out a few feet in front, especially without the head lights in front. Claire tries not look out her window, for fear that something would lunge out of the darkness and strike the car.

With still no sign of the boys or the Gyrosphere, Claire begins to grow more and more despaired. But then, Owen catches sight of something up ahead. At first, the end of his high beams fall upon a concrete wall, but as they move along the wall, there is a disruption. Backing up, and turning back toward it, the approaching lights reveal a huge hole in the wall, the gory remains of an Apatosaur lying lifelessly on the ground through it.

When Claire sees the hole, her despair turns to yet more cold dread. "Oh god," she hisses. "Things literally cannot get any worse."

"What?" Owen says, pulling up to the hole in the wall.

"I…:" Claire begins, worried about what Owen will think when she tells him. But, figuring that he already has plenty of reason to hate her, she says, "That's the wall that separates the rest of the island from the Restricted Area."

"You mean, the nature preserve?" Owen asks.

"It….isn't exactly, a nature preserve…" Claire asks in a very guilty voice.

"Oh no," Owen says, feeling a very familiar conversation bout to unfold.

"Now, let me just start out by saying this was already like this when they brought me in…I didn't know about this until about three years after the park was opened."

Owen lets out a deep sigh to calm himself down before he says, "Alright, let's hear it."

"Okay….when construction was taking place on the island, there were a lot of animals still left over from the first park. Most of them were either recaptured or culled….all, except for the _Velociraptors_."

Owen's head spins toward her, his eyes flooded with apprehension. "Raptors?!" he hisses in a deathly serious voice.

Claire nods. "Apparently, they resisted all attempts to remove them. They fought back to keep us out of their territory, but the Masrani higher ups didn't want to risk using any large scale weaponry in order to prevent public outcry. So this wall was constructed, the thinking being that if we leave them alone on their turf, they'll leave us alone.

Owen bangs his head three times against the rim of the steering wheel. Then he looks at Claire and says, "You knew this was going to happen one day, right?"

"Like I said, not my idea," Claire says.

"Well…..I think it's fairly certain how she got through…" Owen says, seeing the giant dinosaur lying through the breach in the wall. He rummages around in the glove compartment for a flashlight. "You stay here, I'm going to take a brief look."

"'Stay here?'" Claire asks incredulously. "What am I, twelve?"

"I just want you to stay safe! It's dangerous out there," Owen says.

Crossing her arms, Claire says, "It's not exactly safe in here…" the sarcasm practically dripping from her lips.

Rolling his eyes, though with a smile, he hops out of the car, and she follows him out the other door. When they step out of the car, both of them are assaulted with the rank odor of rotting flesh emanating from the fallen titan. Already the flies are starting to gather for the banquet. Owen holds his nose as he steps onto the scaly hide, growing firm already from the onset of rigor mortis. Claire follows him tentatively, barely able to keep her balance on the shifting mounds of flesh in her high heels.

Owen sweeps his flashlight over the scene on the other side of the wall. He sees numerous moss-covered tree trunks growing up from between groves of shrubs and ferns. Occasionally, the beam of light reveals a frog or snake, but there is otherwise no sign of movement.

Then, a flash of blue catches his eye.

"Claire!" he says, pointing toward the object.

Following his finger, Claire catches the flash of blue and immediately starts rushing toward it. As she gets closer, she makes out the warped, mangled, metallic frame of the Gyrosphere lying against the side of a tree. The structural support has been gnarled beyond recognition, and the glass planes have been dislodged and tossed aside. Claire places a delicate hand on the metal frame, instantly pulling back at the touch of wet, foamy saliva dripping down the side. Then, she notices something just slightly above her hand. Sticking out of the side of the corroded metal is an object, somewhere between white and yellow, about six inches long. It is shaped like a banana, with a wide base and blunt tip. A line of tiny serrations run along the midline.

Claire wraps her fingers around the base of the tooth and yanks on it. At first, the tooth resists Claire's attempts to pull it free, but a little persistence pays off. Owen steps to her side, shining the flashlight on it to better examine it. After just a few seconds, he nods, and in a quiet voice he says, "It's one of hers."

An imperceptible relaxing of her fingers causes the tooth to fall to the ground. Claire's whole face scrunches up as the seemingly inevitable realization starts pouring in. Despite how tightly shuts her eyes are, the salty tears begin to leak through, burning and stinging her eyes as they trickle down her face. All she can do to keep from sobbing loudly is to bite her lower lip, and to take in a number of deep breaths through her nose, creating a course sniffling noise in the process.

"Hey!" Owen calls out to her. She tries her best to gather herself, still somehow feeling a need to look professional. When she does look at him, he points down to the ground with his flashlight. "Look."

Looking down, she sees something in the pale beam of the flashlight. Footprints. Two sets of clearly-human footprints, one just a little bit larger than the other. Just a few feet from the remains of the Gyrosphere, the footprints are jumbled and confused. But as they move further into the jungle, they fall into a straight line, heading further into the depths of the jungle.

Claire's entire demeanor changes in an instant. Her eyes fly open, and a gasp flies out of her gaping mouth. She rushes over to where Owen stands, getting a better look at her nephews' tracks. Her sudden burst of hope is lessened by the revelation of another set of tracks, a much larger set with three toes tipped with sharp claws. "Oh no….oh no, oh no, oh no," she says quietly to herself.

"Come on," he says, following the tracks.

After a brief trek through some ravaged forest, they manage to track the footprints to a roaring waterfall, plunging down into a small pool below. The tracks stop dead at the precipice, and with no signs of carnage nearby, Claire quickly puts the pieces together. "Oh my god, they jumped," she blurts out.

"Wow…brave kids," Owen says, genuinely impressed.

"Okay….so, what do we do now?" Claire asks.

"Hmm….now that's a good question…." Owen says, running the flashlight over the edge of the cliff, looking for a way down. When he doesn't find one, he tries to determine their next course of action. "Hm…did the kids have a map?"

"They should have," Claire says. "Every party receives a map with their vacation package."

"Okay, that helps. I think a couple of resourceful kids like these two would be able to figure out where they are, and where they need to go. They'd try to head South, backtrack to where they came in…but they'd have to find a way up here…"

"So they have to be around here somewhere….they wouldn't just go wandering anywhere," Claire says, nodding.

"Okay…alright, here's what I'm thinking. Let's head back to the hole in the wall, and try to find a way down from there. That's invariably where they'll have to end up at some point."

"Right, good…..uh…..well then, let's get going," he says, patting him on the shoulder and heading back toward the hole. Owen turns to follow her, tentatively glancing at the last huge theropod track lingering by the edge.

* * *

Grey opens his eyes, and at first there's no difference from when they were closed. There's nothing but pitch black, useless to eyes that haven't adjusted. At first he can't remember where he is. This can't be his bedroom at home, mostly because he's sitting up in a chair. As his brain catches up with his eyes, memories from the previous day come flooding back all at once. First the anticipation, the excitement, the joy, the ecstasy…..and then the horror.

But his emotional sensations are joined by another, more physical one. Feeling the pressure mounting in his bladder, he gets up out of the chair, looking around in the dark room. With his eyes starting to properly adjust, he makes out the form of his brother sleeping by a nearby desk. Grey briefly ponders whether it would be worth waking him up, but eventually decides that he would have just as much luck finding a bathroom on his own. Grabbing the flashlight from off his desk, he makes his way toward the exit.

Climbing up the flight of stairs that led them down to the control room, he decides to wander around the nearby halls, knowing that a bathroom should be somewhere nearby. Deep in the winding corridors of the old Visitors' Center, where even the ravenous jungle had not yet reached fully, Grey hears his footsteps echo off of the hard-tiled floors, bouncing off of narrow hallways. The beam of his flashlight pans from side of the hall to the other, revealing nothing but bare walls coated in years' worth of dirt and grime.

It isn't too long before Grey comes across a pair of familiar swinging restroom doors, one marked men's and the other women's. At first, Grey instinctively heads toward the men's room door, but just as he's about to pass through the doorway, he stops himself, his eyes turning to the women's room. A sudden curiosity fills his mind as a unique opportunity presents itself to him. There are many thoughts, built up over 11 years of conditioning, telling him to ignore the empty women's room and use the men's as is proper for a young lad such as himself. But another part – a slightly more naught and curious part – cannot help but take advantage of this unexpected chance. Biting his tongue with a deviously cute smile, Grey opts for the women's room instead.

The mystery of just what's in a girl's lavatory turns out to be most disappointing, even when explored on a whim. There are just toilets and sinks. No urinals to speak of. It's basically the same as the boy's room, only with less things in it. Shrugging off the lackluster revelation, Grey walks over to one of the toilet stalls, and quickly relieves himself. He presses down on the lever to flush, but nothing happens, the urine simply sitting in the long-standing tepid water, no doubt a popular breeding spot for island insects. But satisfied nonetheless, he makes his way out of the bathroom, not even bothering to try the sink.

As he begins backtracking to the control room, Grey is halted by a sound coming from somewhere behind him. It isn't close. In fact, it's muffled quality hints that it is another room. Grey can't quite pinpoint what kind of sound it is. A hiss? A purr? A grunt? All of the above? None of the above? Whatever it, is does have a familiar, slow rhythm to it, like breathing. No – snoring.

Grey is suddenly forced with a decision – to quickly and quietly return to the control room, wake his brother, and leave this place, or turn around, follow the snoring, and find whatever creature is slumbering within these ruined walls. The fear of stirring such a creature, whatever it might be, is enough to make Grey's stomach churn, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't be. What if it was big? What if it was angry? What if it was hungry?

And yet, such worries are countered by burning curiosity and thirst for knowledge. He did want to see them. He loves these creatures too much to be deterred by the simple threat of evisceration, as most children do. And on top of that, there is a deeper, darker yearning to indulge in the dangerous and the unwise. It is specifically because he knows how irresponsible it would be to go exploring that he feels the push to venture further down the hall. Eventually, it is that more adventurous 'Tookish' side of him that wins out.

Tip toing as softly as he can to minimize the noise he makes, Grey creeps down the hall toward the brutish snoring. His ears lead him to a door, a single circular his only view into the next room. Even with the flashlight, it's hard to discern what lies on the other side. Wiping away the built up residue on the glass, Grey squints his eyes to peer through.

It becomes instantly clear to Grey that the room in question is a garage. There are two vehicles inside; 1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, colored slate gray and bright red, though the paint has long since faded. The two cars sit dead next to each other, facing two open garage doors that lead directly into the surrounding jungle. Ancient scraps of foliage reach out and wrap themselves around the exposed frames of the jeeps. All around them, dusty counters are lined with assorted knick knacks, all of them very clearly untouched for decades. Old park brochures, night-vision goggles, unused emergency flares. What Grey doesn't see is any sign of the snoring creature within.

That is, until he sweeps his flashlight down to the ground. The pale blue beam passes over something vaguely shiny for an instant before coming down to a leaf-littered floor. Going back over it, Grey makes out a mosaic of hexagonal scales, dark and brown in the path of his light. Tracing the outside of the creature's frame, he makes out a human-sized, lizard-like body with a long tail curled half way around the whole form. Powerful back legs are tucked close, as are the dexterous forelimbs. The head is indiscernible, as it is tucked underneath the right arm. The sides of the animal move in and out, very slowly, perfectly in time to the rhythm of the deep snoring ringing out, now louder than ever.

It is instantly apparent to Grey that this is the animal depicted in the mural by the entrance to the Visitors' Center. And as his flashlight sweeps the floor, more of them are revealed. First two, then three. Four. Seven. A total of nine are discovered, all of them sleeping with their heads tucked under their arms, curled up inside circular nest of dead plants.

Grey feels a tightening in his chest, as if fear itself holds his heart in a vice-like grip. He's frozen, transfixed by the sleeping terrors just feet away. His stale breath fogs up the circular glass window, and yet he feels no sign of life-giving air.

Turning back toward the stairs, he suddenly realizes how loud he had been earlier. He can no longer afford loud echoing footsteps like before. He takes full advantage of the soft pads of his sneakers, careful to tip toe as softly as he can, while also trying to keep some semblance of a quick pace. He keeps his steps pronounced, so as to avoid the chance of his sneakers giving a brief yet loud screech on the hard floor, the kind normally heard during games of basketball. Though the trek had been short before, Grey found the path back to the Control room much longer, and much slower.

Once he's downstairs, he risks a bit more noise for the sake of haste. He rushes through the door, an immediately starts shaking Zach by the shoulder, hissing coarsely, "Zach! Wake up! Wake up!"

A few shakes gets Zach stirring, and he blinks his eyes a few times. "What?" he groans, as if woken at noon on a Sunday.

"Zach we have to get out of here, now!" Grey says in a quiet voice.

"What, what's going on?" Zach says, growing more alert at his brother's terrified tone.

"There are dinosaurs in here," Grey says, barely over a breath.

Bolting upright in his chair, Zach's head spins around the room, looking for any sign of the creatures. "What? Where?" he asks.

"Shhh!" Grey says, putting his finger to his lips. "They're upstairs and down the hall, sleeping! We have to be quiet."

"Okay," Zach says, lowering his voice. "Which way should we go?"

"Same way we came in, they're sleeping on the other side of the building," Grey says.

Nodding, Zach says, "Okay, let's go."

The two boys make a run for the exit, doing their best to keep their rush as silent as they can. They suffered more than a few stumbles, though any noise didn't seem to carry as far as they feared. After a stretch of time that felt much longer than it was, the boys find themselves back in the musty, overgrown foyer to the Visitors' Center, stepping awkwardly over pieces of fossilized skeletons as they race for the exit.

Several feet below them, inside the garage, a long-snouted skull rises to alert, a pair of eyes flickering open. It sniffs the air a few times, and lets out a single, blood-curdling scream.

As Zach and Grey jump down the stairs leading up the entrance hall, they hear the scream and fear the worst. "They didn't see us, they didn't…they couldn't…" Grey stammers, utterly terrified.

Zach puts his hand on Grey's shoulder and urges him on. "Come on, let's go." Unsure of what to do, the two boys recede into the depths of the jungle, feeling somehow sheltered in its twisting layers.

* * *

Inside the garage, the nine raptors begin to wake, the biggest already standing at full attention. She is a war-torn veteran, dull in color, and with the tip of her tail and one of the fingers on her left hand both missing. Her eyes are asymmetrically colored; one being the usual bright yellow, while the other is pale blue. She caws out to the others, urging them to wake as quickly as possible, going so far as to snap at those closest to her. Once all nine are finally up and fully awake, she leads them out of the garage and through the door into the hallway. She keeps her nose to the ground, trailing a scent she has not smelled since she was a chick. The trail leads her to the upper levels and out the front doors, somehow opened.

She had no idea how, but the invaders had returned.

* * *

As Zach and Grey push further into the darkness of the surrounding bush, they awkwardly trip over tree roots and low lying foliage, unable to see things clearly, but not daring enough to use the flashlight. The last thing they needed was a beacon for their pursuers to find them more easily. Behind them, the vicious snarls of the raptors call out into the night. It is a sound that fills their hearts with impending dread, and eggs them on, even in the tangled thicket of the jungle. They have no direction, and are merely trying to get as far away from the old building as they can.

As they keep moving, Grey catches something from far away – a slight, pale glint moving in between the trees. It seems almost ephemeral at first, like a forest sprite or fairy. But it soon becomes clear what it really is. He reaches out and pulls on his brother's shirt, pulling him back. "Zach, Zach, Zach!"

"What?"

"Over there!" Grey says, practically jumping up and down as he points to the light a few hundred feet away.

Seeing the light, Zach gasps, and then calls out, "HEY! OVER HERE!"

Grey joins him, "WE'RE OVER HERE! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

Both boys change course, heading directly for the light. They keep calling to it, in hopes of getting the owner's attention. It takes a fair bit of yelling, but after a few minutes, they hear a reply. "ZACH? GREY?"

Their hopes soar. Not only have they found someone, they've found a rescue party. They hadn't been abandoned to the mercy of the park and the wild creatures roaming free. They don't care as stray branches scratch their faces, or as wide tropical leaves block their paths. They are moments away from being whisked away to safety.

The time finally comes when a clear path opens between them and their saviors. The beam of pale white light shines directly on them, the harshness blinding them for a brief moment. They still can't clearly make out who this person is, but as footsteps grow closer, it soon becomes apparent.

"Zach! Grey!" says the frantically excited voice of Aunt Claire as she wraps one arm around Grey, one around Zach, and pulls them in for the tightest – and dirtiest – hug they've ever been given. "Oh my god, I can't believe I found you! You're alive, you're alive!" she says in a muffled voice, burying her face in their shoulders as a wave of warm tears pours down her face and onto their wet clothes.

Zach and Grey are utterly shocked by what is now happening. The very sight of Aunt Claire is a shocker – far from the well-dressed, sparkling white attire and perfectly kept red hair that she had worn when they first saw her hours ago, she looks totally transformed. Her makeup is smeared, and her hair had become wild and frizzy, dead leaves and twigs sticking out of it. Her clothes are stained with mud, and torn at various points. Grey and Zach are certain that her shoes weren't brown when she first bought them. But however strange the sight might have been, they don't give it a second thought, and return the hug with equal fervor.

It's only when they step away that they see the tall, well-toned man in blue shirt and vest, a small rifle on a sash swung over his shoulder. He stands back and lets Claire and the boys have their moment, a warmth settling in his heart.

But his attention is quickly drawn to the corner of his eyes, where a shadowy shape slinks through the underbrush. Within seconds, the rifle is in his hands. The others see his motions and their moment of joy whiplashes into terror. The move close to him. "Claire," he says, "Very slowly now….shine the flashlight on those ferns over there."

Wordlessly, Claire follows his instruction, and the beam crawls up from the ground, up the base of a tall grove of ferns. In between the interlocking fronds, something shifts uneasily in the light. It darts forward, trying to take cover in a group of nearby shrubs.

"Keep together," Owen says, the four of them staying very close.

"Is it the raptors?" Grey asks.

"This is no raptor," Owen says quietly. "Too big."

At that moment, a gut-wrenching, squelching sound rings out from the shrubs, and a second later, a big glob of black ooze hits Zach on his left shoulder. The force of the spit knocks Zach back a few steps. He looks down at the dark slime, totally confused. "The fuck is this?" he says, about to touch it with his fingers.

But Owen shoots his hand forward and stays Zach's hand. "Don't touch it," he says very simply.

The scene is rent asunder by the sudden appearance of the nine raptors from the Visitors' Center. Hoots, snarls, shrieks, and caws sound off from all around them, all too recognizable to Owen. But the creatures do not reveal themselves. Not entirely. A curious-looking head would pop up from the low-lying bushes, only to retreat back into seclusion a moment later. Owen can tell how deliberate these movements are, the actions of articulate hunters playing with their preys' perceptions and expectations.

One of the raptors leaps out of the undergrowth, placing itself very strategically in the path of one of their only clear lines of escape. "Don't be distracted," Owen says. "This one is trying to divert your attention from the other. The attack comes from the side. Let them know that you know they're there!"

But before the attack can proceed further, a long, slender form emerges like a shark from the ocean and slams its head against the revealed raptors. It is then that they see what this spitting creature looks like - stretching over 20 feet long from nose to tail, its proportions are thin and gracile compared to the stockier raptors. The skull is long, with a distinct hooked notch at the tip. Atop the creatures head is a pair of long head crests, running parallel next to one another. It otherwise bears the same bauplan as the raptors; bipedal with a head on one end and a long tail on the other.

The raptor is thrown against a nearby tree, squealing in brief pain before turning to face its attacker, baring its lines of needle-like teeth. When faced with the threat display of the raptor, the double-crested predator unfurls a wide neck frill, colored with vivid red markings.

The blue-eyed pack leader steps out of the jungle, facing the larger, frilled rival. Once she reveals herself, the other seven raptors come out of hiding and begin mounting a threat display against the Dilophosaur.

"Go, go!" Owen says as all the predators' attention shifts away from them. They recede quietly into the forest as the two species begin a ritual of ferocious snarling and hissing.


	37. Chapter 35 - The Indominus Return

One of the mobile veterinary units pulls up in the back parking lot of the Innovation Center, largely empty as the evacuation process continues as best it can. It slows down to a crawl, though never actually comes to a complete stop. The passenger side door opens, and Henry Wu steps out. Turning back to the driver, he says, "Thanks," absentmindedly before shutting the door and walking over to the entrance.

He steps into the hallway on the first floor. An uneasy swirling sensation fills his belly, as if afraid that he might be caught carrying a piece of valuable contraband. The tension is only exacerbated by the complete absence of any other personnel; the starkness and silence weighing on Wu like the pressure at the bottom of a deep ocean trench. He does his best to conceal it, walking at a casual pace and wearing the most unassuming face he can muster. But there's no hiding the increased pace of his heartbeat, or the beads of sweat gathering on his palms.

When he arrives at the control room, he notices all the control staff hard at work organizing the evacuation. But there's no sign of Claire anywhere. Going up to Vivian, he gently asks her, "Um…excuse me?"

She only looks briefly at him before going back to her screen. "Oh hi Dr. Wu."

"Yeah, hi, I was just wondering…was there any particular reason I was brought here?"

"Uh….yeah, Owen said he wanted to talk to you," she says, still distracted.

Wu feels a lump in his throat plummet down into his gut. He remembers vividly the concerns Owen brought up shortly after the _Indominus_ hatched. He feigns disinterest as he asks her, "Oh, where is he?"

"He's out with Claire right now," Lowery says. "They're searching for her nephews, they're still out in the park apparently."

The elevator doors open and Hoskins enters the control room accompanied by several armed soldiers. "Where's Dearing?" he asks to no one in particular.

"Frickin' broken record over here," Lowery murmurs under his breath before continuing, "She's out in the park with Owen Grady, they're looking for her nephews."

Hoskins' face scrunches up and he holds his arms up in a questioning manner. "Well then what the hell's going on in here? Who's in charge?"

"I mean…no one…not right now, at least," Lowery says with a shrug. "Not until Claire gets back."

"Well, just so everyone knows, I was able to bring in some more fire and man power in from the mainland," Hoskins says. "I'm heading out now, make sure to deliver the message to Dearing if she gets back."

"Actually," Wu says, sidling over toward Hoskins, "Mind if I have a word, privately?"

"Uh…sure," Hoskins says unsure. "Move out, men," he calls to the soldiers. They board the next elevator, and depart on their own. Hoskins and Wu wait for the next one for the sake of privacy. "What's going on?" Hoskins asks.

"I think….I think Grady suspects something…" Wu says quietly.

Hoskins pauses for a moment. "'Suspects something?' What the hell does that mean?"

"I-I don't know, exactly," Wu says. "All I know is that he requested I be dropped off here instead of evacuated with the rest of Asset Development."

"That doesn't mean anything," Hoskins says.

"You don't understand. Grady was already suspicious of me when the _Indominus_ first hatched. I tried to just hand wave his concerns, but I'm not sure he ever fully bought it."

"Did he ask you anything?" Hoskins asks, beginning to realize the danger. "What did you tell him?"

"He questioned me about all the _Indominus'_ unique abilities. I tried to pass it off as just filling in gaps in the genome, but he was smarter than I gave him credit for. He didn't believe that I'd use a bombardier beetle just to fill in some sequence gaps."

"So what, do you think he's gonna try to question you?" Hoskins asks.

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Okay, so just lie," Hoskins says.

"Can't you just take me with you?" Wu says with clear desperation.

"No room," Hoskins says. "Besides, are you sure out there is where you wanna be?"

Wu berates himself silently for not thinking of that. "Fair point."

"Come on, man up. Show some spine. If he comes at you, just fucking lie."

The elevator doors open, but only Hoskins steps out. Sighing, Wu just says, "Good luck."

"Same to you," Hoskins says.

"Alright, so – tell me exactly what happened," Claire says as she climbs over the crumbled remnants of the concrete wall, back into the Gyrosphere valley.

"Well, Zach and I were in the Gyrosphere," Grey says as Owen helps him climb up a block of concrete, "and then, all of a sudden, the thing tells us to go back."

"So why didn't you?" Clair asks, half frustrated half curious.

"We tried," Zach says, with plenty of frustration of his own. "But the damn thing only goes five miles an hour. We were on our way back when you called, remember?"

"Right, right," Claire says. "Sorry, I've had a lot to keep straight in my head. So, what happened after I called you?"

"All the dinosaurs started freaking out," Zach says. "They all started running past us, and then one of them kicked us."

"Holy smokes," Owen says, keeping his language deliberately PG. "What did that feel like?"

"Zach threw up," Grey says, smiling.

Zach shoves Grey by the shoulder. "Anyway, we kept getting bashed around until we hit this wall."

"But the gyrosphere didn't break through the wall, did it?" Claire asks, not willing to believe that it could.

"No," Grey says. "When we hit the wall, we saw this…well, I don't actually know what it was. I've never seen a dinosaur like it before."

"Yeah, that's the new one," Claire says, her voice dripping with guilt.

"What did it do?" Owen asks.

"Well, there was also this _Apatosaurus,"_ Grey says. "And the two of them got into a big fight. And then, the other dinosaur, like, spat acid or something at the _Apatosaurus_ , and then he jumped on her and they both crashed into the wall!" Grey says, miming the action with his hands and arms."

"A combined 100 tons of dinosaur? Yeah, that'll do it," Owen says as they approach the jeep. Zach and Grey take their seats in back as Owen gets into the driver's seat, Claire in the passenger's side beside him. As he starts the jeep up, Owen asks, "And how did she get you two out of the gyropshere? Those things are meant to hold up against things stronger than that thing."

"So, you remember how I said that the thing spits acid? Well, it spit up all over, like, the rings around the gyropshere? You know, that, like, hold the glass? So then, when he started pounding on it, the rings….like, dissolved, and the glass fell out."

Owen bites his bottom lip, trying his best not to curse in front of the kids. _Fuck, she is smart…_ He starts up the jeep, and backs up slowly away from the gigantic carcass still lying in the path of the wall. Turning around carefully, he speeds through the valley, doing his best to avoid any dinosaur corpses still scattered around the fields.

On the South side of the island, just a short drive from the hotel complex, the Jurassic Thrill Zone sits silently in the dark. Even on a normal day, it wouldn't be at all active at 2:45 in the morning. But there is something even more ominous about it as its games, food stands, and giant mechanical rides stand quiet and deserted in the dark. Normally, the larger coasters and rides would still be alight, but with the entire island on emergency power, their frivolous nature denies them the energy. Even the nearly 600 foot tall Asteroid roller coaster is invisible under the shroud of night.

As if out of nowhere, two harsh beams of light cut through the shadows, traveling through the center of the park, up the streets that were teeming with tourists not a day earlier. The service van rumbles past a curricular ride called the Egg Spinner, and through an open gate at the back by the _Pteranodon_ flyers. The road leads outside of the Jurassic Thrill Zone proper, and toward the entrance into an underground bunker. The van pulls to a stop, and Simon Masrani climbs out of the driver's side, followed by an armed ACU soldier.

The two of them make it to the bunker and open it up manually with a key. Before them, a long, wide stairway leads downwards into the storm shelter. At about 4 times the size of a typical high school gymnasium. The shelter is filled with cots running in rows from one end to the other. On the opposite end from the stairway, tables offer the guests bottled water and granola bars. When the crowd of about 2000 people sees Masrani and the soldier approaching, they all stand at attention. Those closest to the stairs begin shuffling toward them at an excited pace.

"Alright everyone, alright, please! Settle down!" He says, trying to shout over the din of the crowd. "Let's try to make this go as quickly as possible!" The peoples' desire to leave the island is overshadowing their better judgement. They can't all be accommodated at once, yet they still push and shove to make it onto the next convoy. They've already been through this several times. Wanting to get this over with quickly, Masrani looks at the line of people closest to him. He selects an elderly woman, her son and his wife, as well as their two young children. In addition, he selects two young women, and a middle aged man and woman. Together, they add up to the sum number of total available seats in the transport van. He does his best to ignore the groans and obscenities hurled his way once the others learn that they're staying in the shelter for another 20 minutes at least.

"You can't possibly expect me to climb all these stairs?!" the old woman cries to Masrani.

"Well…" Masrani begins nervously, not sure what the best immediate solution is. But the soldier takes the initiative upon himself, and sweeps the old woman off her feet, carrying her easily in his arms.

She does not appreciate his gumption. "How rude!" she says, though she makes no demands to be let down.

They proceed up the stairs and to the vain, the old woman letting forth a stream of complaints at Masrani along the way.

"What kind of business do you think you're running here? You charge two arms and a leg, my family and I have to spend nearly an entire day stuffed into a storm shelter! Do you have any idea how stuffy it is in there?! Your park doesn't care at all about seniors, and you can be sure that I'm going to tell all my friends about this, and write a deservedly awful review on yelp!"

Masrani would offer some kind of standard, disinterested apology, but she doesn't give him the opportunity. Her family tries to get her to stop, but she refuses, even as she's deposited into the van with the rest.

Her rage-filled ramblings continue as Masrani drives back through the amusement park. "The service at the hotel was miserable, the staff at check in didn't smile once while I was there, and it took them fifteen minutes to get our luggage up to our room. And there weren't nearly enough towels in there. I use three towels per shower, and I told them that when I booked my reservation back in July! And I don't like that so many of the staff don't speak English right, I can barely understand them over their accents!"

Masrani grips the steering wheel, biting his tongue as she continues unwaveringly.

As he turns around a corner past an arcade, only to find the road blocked. Though it had been clear just minutes before, the path is now obstructed by a 20 foot tall mass of fat and feathers. Its black and white striped feathery coat would have been otherwise invisible if not for the van's high beams. A fat, pot belly is balanced on two squat legs, a high, camel-like hump sitting over its hips. The arms are over 7 feet long, and both end in hands bearing sharply curved claws. Its skinny, swan-like neck is capped by a comical-looking duck-like bill.

Masrani comes to a halt as the van approaches the dinosaur. Sensing their approach, it lazily toward them, sniffing their air. A Bright red wattle dangles over its snout as it stares at the van, and Masrani and the soldier exchange frustrated looks.

The woman calls out from the back. "We're slowing down! Why are we slowing?!"

"Mom, please!" the woman next to her says, to no avail.

"I want to get off this island! My family and I want to get off this island!" she continues to yell.

"Ma'am, please," the soldier says, craning his neck around to look at her. "Our path is currently obstructed."

"Then do something! We want to get off this island!" she says.

"Not exactly a helpful suggestion," the soldier says quietly to Masrani. The women sitting just behind him catch his voice, and snicker. "Should I shoot it?"

"If you shoot it, then there's no chance of it moving," Masrani says. "Let me try something," he says, putting his hand to the horn. When the van honks at the dinosaur, the dinosaur – to everyone's surprise - actually honks back. Like a goose larger than an elephant, it opens up its wide, flat bill and utters a deep, projecting honk. Far from scaring the dinosaur off, the van now has its full interest.

"Why are we still sitting here?" the crone calls from the back. "Why aren't we moving?"

Ignoring her, Masrani says to the soldier, "Well shit, that didn't work."

"Maybe if I fire a few rounds into the air, that will scare it off," the soldier says, getting out of the van. He steps out onto the paved road, the dinosaur failing to notice him, its attention still fixed on the van. It continues honking, as if trying to get a reaction from Masrani. The soldier steadies his rifle and aims upwards and forwards at the sky above. With a squeeze of the trigger, a single shot shatters the night air, leaving an obvious impression on the dinosaur. It stops honking, and turns its head quickly in the soldier's direction. It looks left of him, then right of him, as if unable to fathom where such a sound could have come from. However, the one thing it doesn't do is move out of the way.

"Come on," he groans, taking another shot into the empty sky. Once more, the dinosaur's head swivels all around him in search of the sound's origin. When this still fails to do the job, the soldier sighs and says to himself, "Third time's the charm."

He never fires the third shot. Before he can apply enough pressure to shoot, he is enveloped first by a steaming hot darkness, and then by total nothingness just a second later. From the driver's seat, Masrani struggles to realize what's happening. The dinosaur in front of him lets out a terrified braying before waddling off down another street. Where the soldier had been standing, now he sees the huge, bulky skull of the _Indominus_ , the soldier's legs still sticking out of the end of her snout. Horrified screams fill the van. Masrani has no idea where the _Indominus_ came from – it just seemed to have materialized out of the surrounding blackness.

The soldier's legs, severed entirely at the shin, fall meekly to the ground as the _Indominus_ lifts her head and turns its attention to the van. Only now does Masrani finally remember where he is, and shifts the car into reverse, slamming his foot down on the breaks. The car begins to speed backwards, but before it can gain enough velocity, the _Indominus_ reaches forward, slamming her three-clawed right hand down on the roof of the van. The claws cut easily through the roof, one of them just narrowly missing the middle-aged man's balding head.

Masrani keeps his foot on the gas pedal, the car struggling to move backwards as the _Indominus_ pulls forwards. The opposing forces give out as the car blasts back, the _Indominus'_ claws slashing toward the hood. They not only catch Masrani by the back of his head, sending him flying head-first out of the windshield, they also manage to get ahold of the vehicle's engine and wrench it right out of the van.

The dead van collides into a nearby restroom, slamming through the small building and scattering bricks and bits of porcelain everywhere. Those sitting in the back seat – including the old woman – feel the backs of their heads collide with the back windshield before falling unconscious. Those still aware of what's happening around them are unsure of whether to try and flee or stay put.

For the moment, the _Indominus_ leaves the van alone, instead moving over to Masrani and standing over him like a dog contemplating a lame rabbit. Masrani's face is covered in bloody scrapes, and the back of his head now bears a deep gash. He is too dazed to find the energy to stand up, and can only mange to stare back up at the drooling, toothy maw of the monster standing over him.

Though broken teeth and gory drool he mutters a single word with a gurgling voice. "P-please….please."

The _Indominus_ responds by stepping forward and placing her foot down on his back. She doesn't simply crush him in a single motion, but slowly unloads her several tons of weight upon him. Bile and blood spurt out of his mouth before his ribs snap and his internal organs turn to jelly. She removes her foot from his flattened corpse before turning to look at the disabled van.


	38. Chapter 36 - Desperate Times

By the edge of the forest just behind the 'Coastal Creatures' exhibit – one of the only attractions that still houses its residents - the ACU works from a mobile command unit set up on the inside of an enormous land rover. Troops mobilize all around, loading weapons and heading off to their assigned position. Inside the land rover, Hoskins sits with a pair of head phones trying to coordinate everything.

"Go ahead, Sector 4," he says into his head set.

"Requesting escort to deal with a group of hostiles," a voice answers.

"Describe the hostiles," Hoskins says.

"Three individuals, about 6 meters each. Not responding to intimidation."

"Copy that," Hoskins says. He turns to one of the soldiers and says, "Sector 4 needs assistance, take 3 troops, use olfactory repellents." The soldier nods and grabs four bottles of what look like mace and heads out of the command unit.

Another solider passes by him and calls out to Hoskins. "Sir!" he calls out.

Hoskins turns in his chair to face him. "What is it, son?"

"We just got word from Sector 1, they've got a severe situation," he says, heading over to Hoskins and handing him a walk talkie.

"Hoskins, Over." he says.

"Sir, this is Lamari calling from Sector 1. There's been an attack sir. The new one, the-the big one. It destroyed one of the transport vans. Over."

Squeezing the walkie talkie, Hoskins curses to himself before answering. "Casualties? Over."

"11 sir. Including two young children and Mr. Masrani. Over."

"Dear God," Hoskins whispers. "Any sign of the hostile? Over."

"No sir. Over"

"Alright, hang tight, soldier. I'm sending an escort team, big guns this time. This won't happen again, I promise you, over."

Getting up from his chair, Hoskins shuffles out of the command unit and calls out. "Hamada!" When the ACU squad leader acknowledges him, Hoskins continues. "The _I. rex_ just attacked one of the transport vehicles, they suffered heavy casualties. Take 15 men and set up an escort perimeter around sector 1. Take the biggest guns, I want armor piercing rounds and explosive units."

"Yes sir," Hamada says before going off to organize the squad.

At first, Hoskins turns to go back to his post, but he stops about mid way. His mind starts considering a number of gruesome possibilities. _What if shows up somewhere else? What if these weapons still aren't enough? What if it attacks again before we get there?_ As he thinks, the only thing that's clear to him is that the _Indominus_ has to go. Their weapons should be enough to take her down, the only trouble is finding her. She can camouflage herself perfectly from sight, alter her body temperature to evade thermal detection, and use high frequency sound waves to interfere with sonar.

Instead of going back to his post, Hoskins goes around the command unit, away from the other ACU troops. He stands by one of the Coastal Creatures pens, its lone occupant being a lizard-like creature with a ludicrously long neck, about 15 feet long in total. Making sure there's no one within earshot, Hoskins takes out his cellphone and dials Dr. Wu. When no one answers, Hoskins resists the temptation to throw his cell phone into the exhibit beside hm.

But just a few minutes later, Wu calls back. "Sorry, had to get away from the control staff."

"listen to me Wu," Hoskins says forcefully, "The I. rex just took out a transport van with two children and Mr. Masrani in it."

"I know," Wu says quietly. "We just got word."

"Then you know we have to do something about it. She could come back at anytime, anywhere on the island. You have to tell me how I can track this thing down, how I can find it."

"How would I know that?" Wu asks, almost dumbfounded.

"You made the goddamn thing!" Hoskins hisses, "You've got to have some idea of how to find it!"

"Do I look like a tracker to you?" Wu asks rhetorically. 'I don't know the first thing about finding an animal out in the wild."

"Well, I'm not going to sit around on my ass and wait for this thing to strike again!" Hoskins says. "So you're going to tell me – how the hell do I find this thing?"

"I believe it was your suggestion to give her such excellent camouflage abilities," Wu says. "Did you specifically ask me if it was possible to breed a creature that could hide from advanced military technology?"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Hoskins says, spitting into the mouth piece. "I'm out here risking my life, along the with the lives of everyone else on this island. Do you fucking dare give me lip, you son of a bitch!"

"Sorry," Wu says sullenly. "But it's a fact. We bred this thing to be good at hiding itself. So unless you've got a blood hound, I don't know what to tell you."

Hoskins is about to curse Wu out for giving him more sass, but his words trigger something inside his memory. Disparate pieces begin coming together in Hoskins head. When they finish, he simply hangs up the phone and heads over to the rest ACU.

He points to one of the men sitting at the computers inside. "Hey!" he calls out to the man.

The man turns around and replies, "Yes sir."

"One of the transports is being driven by a man named Barry Colbert. Find him and contact him, tell him to report to the raptor pen asap."


	39. Chapter 37 - Patterns

When the elevator doors open, Owen and Claire are immediately struck by how quiet the room is. There isn't nearly as much frantic typing, or blank stares fixed on computer screens. The tension is broken when Zara rushes over to Claire and embraces her quickly before stepping back. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"What's going on?" Claire asks. "Did something happen?"

"We…we just…got word that Mr. Masrani… he… the Indominus…" Lowery doesn't need to finish.

"Oh god," Claire says, putting her head in her hands. Had she not succeeded in finding the boys, then this would surely have been the final blow to her mental stability.

"It's worse," Vivian says. "It took out one of the evacuation vehicles. It was full of visitors…including two young children…"

"Christ," Owen whispers, feeling a painful sickness bubbling in his gut.

Owen, Claire, Vivian, Lowery, and Zara all exchange defeated looks, the kids understanding nothing more than the group's depression. Eventually, Grey asks, "What are you gonna do?"

The question catches Claire off guard. It carries far more weight than Grey intends. What is there to do? What can they to do? Claire begins to slowly nod to herself. "Right…right…" she says, pacing around the control room slowly. "We're never going to get everyone off this island. Not with that…that monster out there. Our only chance is to take her out."

"We tried that," Owen points out grimly.

"Hoskins was in here earlier," Lowery points out. "He said he was able to get some more soldiers and weapons from the mainland, bigger ones."

"Well that's it then, isn't it?" Zara asks.

Owen shakes his head. "No, far from it. This thing can camouflage itself in pretty every way possible – sonar, thermal, visual. Finding her, and then getting a clear shot – those are the real problems."

Claire suddenly punches the wall with her bare knuckles, causing most in the room to jump. As she pulls her fist back from the dent made in the wall, she says, "Damnit! Come on people! There's got to be some way…some way to find this thing. I don't care how many animals this things is made of, we can still kill it, somehow."

"She's too unpredictable," Owen says. "No one's ever dealt with an animal like this before."

"What about keeper reports?" Grey asks. All the heads in the room spin toward him. Suddenly bashful from all the attention, he pauses before going on. "I…I went on a field trip to the Denver Zoo last year, and they told us that every day, the keepers fill out a report of the animal's behavior that day…I was just thinking maybe…"

Owen rushes forward and scoops up the 8 year old boy in his arms, spinning her around twice and smiling widely before setting hi back down again. "Kid, you are a genius! Of course! We've got three years' worth of documentation on her behavior. If we search it thoroughly enough, we might be able to discover some patterns that will help us track her down."

"Where are these keeper reports?" Zara

"They're stored electronically," Owen says sitting down at a computer. "I just need access to the file…" He begins typing on the keyboard, searching the shared drive for the park. He searches a file labeled 'Animal Care' and inside finds another folder entitled keeper reports. The reports are first categorized by year. Owen selects 2012, and fines a list of folders each labeled with a different animal's name. Finding the Indominus', he clicks it, only to be informed by a pop up that he doesn't have access to this file. "Damn," he says.

"Here, let me," Claire says, leaning over him and punching in a password. "There, you're in."

Owen looks at her with a cocked eyebrow and says, "Was that 'KGillan' I saw you type in…?"

"Shut up and search," Claire says half playfully. "Here, Grey, Zach, why don't you help Owen search," she says, setting up two more computers beside him.

"Ah come on," Zach says.

"Please, Zach," Claire says. "People's lives could depend on this."

He can't argue. "Okay, what are we supposed to be looking for?"

"Patterns.," Owen says, still looking at his screen. "Any patterns you notice, no matter how insignificant they may seem, could provide vital clues."

"I'm on it," Grey says, sitting down to Owen's right and clicking furiously. Zach doesn't show quite as much enthusiasm as his brother, but he nonetheless takes a place at a computer.

From across the control room, Dr. Wu watches them over a sheet of paper, pretending to be in the middle of intense reading. He's remained quiet and unseen ever since Owen and Claire made it back to the control room. Over hearing their conversation, he wonders if they may actually be on to something. Tracing the Indominus' behavior over time might be the most effective way of determining patterns that might lead to her destruction. More importantly, it draws attention – and suspicion - away from him.

Or so he thinks.

Without warning, Owens eyes flash from the screen over to Wu, and for the briefest of moments, their gazes lock. Wu breaks off eye contact by looking down at the paper, focusing on a random word in the middle of the page – 'sector' – to preserve the illusion that his attention is focused on reading.

"Hey Claire," Owen says, still eying Wu. "Come take a look at this…"

Excited, Claire leans over and looks at the screen. "What, what is it?"

He lowers his voice and says, "Nothing, I need to talk about something important, but we can't be overheard."

"What do you mean?" she asks, confused.

Owen pauses before asking her, "Do you trust Dr. Wu?"

"What are you-" she begins instinctively before shifting mid-sentence to question at hand. "For the most part. He's always done everything we've ever asked of him…"

Owen senses there's something she's not saying. "'But?'…" he says, leading her on.

"But…" she says, "He's always been sort of…guarded about his work. I've never pushed him about it because of the number of times he's saved my ass from the boarders, but I'd be lying if I wasn't just a little suspicious about what he gets up to in the lab."

"Good to know I'm not the only one," Owen says. "When the Indominus first hatched, I wondered why she was so aggressive and jam-packed with nasty features. I mean, I know that's what the public ordered, apparently, but this seemed like over kill. So I emailed Wu about it, and he just waved if off as unexpected side effects of filling in the gaps in the DNA strand."

"You didn't believe him?" Claire asks.

"I wanted to," Owen says. "But with everything that's happened, it's really starting to feel…deliberate."

"Deliberate?" Claire asks. "You think he meant for it to be so destructive?"

"Maybe, I mean…" Owen stops himself before he can make a claim that he can't back up. "That's just the way it feels. I mean, this thing is completely resistant to small arms fire, can spit noxious chemicals, has incredible physical strength, and an array of senses on par with a military satellite. Now, don't tell me that that's all by accident."

Claire looks briefly over at Wu, who still maintains his position behind the papers. "But why though? What could he possibly get out of it?"

"No idea…" Owen says.

"Did I ever tell you that Wu was the first person ever to suggest a hybrid dinosaur as a new attraction?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me," Owen says. "Though it does make me a hell of a lot more suspicious."

"What do you think we should do?" Claire asks.

"Just keep an eye on him for now," Owen says. "I want to concentrate on the Indominus."

"While you do that, I'm gonna go through the Masrani Workers' Electronic Archive to see if maybe Wu let something slip in an email maybe." She gets back up and heads over to her office.

Sensing that something is about to happen, Wu decides that Park Control is no longer the best place for him. He gets up slowly from his chair, though not too slowly. He does his best to convince his body that he's only going to use the bathroom, and there's no need for nausea or sweat. Making sure that both Owen and Claire are examining their screens, he moves along the wall of the Control room toward the elevator.

By the time Owen looks up from the computer, the elevator is already heading down.

"Shit!" Owen shouts, flying from his chair toward the door to the stairs, only to suddenly turn around to pick up his rifle by the door to Claire's office.

As he races past Zara, she asks him, "Owen, what are you-?"

"Talk later," he says, not bothering to look back at her. He bolts down the stairs as fast as he can, leaping about 4 or 5 steps at a time. When he finally reaches the first floor, he explodes into the hallway, turning to face the door to the employee parking lot – where he sees Wu's foot disappear outside.

"Son of a bitch!" Owen mutters to himself as he darts across the hall. By the time he makes it outside, Wu is already pulling out of the parking lot in Owen's jeep, the only vehicle left. "Fuck!" He shouts out, aiming his rifle at the jeep. But in the dark, he doubts that he can get a decent shot, and so resigns himself to stamping his foot on the pavement.

Wu is so focused on making it far away from park control – and Owen's rifle - that he doesn't notice the flat tire at first. He figured that the bumpiness of the ride was down to his going nearly 100 miles an hour, heading South toward the ferry landing. But as it becomes increasingly impossible to steer, he brings the car to a gradual halt by the mosasaur stadium. Grabbing a flashlight on the floor of the passenger's side, he goes out to investigate, shining the beam of the light on the rear left hand tire. As to be expected, the tire lies flat on the dirt road. But more than that, Wu notices something else. The rubber appears ragged and torn all over. Looking more closely, he sees what appear to be tiny tooth marks puncturing the outside.

"Goddamn compys!" he snarls, slamming his fist into the side of the jeep. Henry Wu can create an artificial hybrid dinosaur that's invulnerable to gun fire and can spit burning chemicals, but he's never learned how to change a tire. Since there is not AAA on Isla Nublar, Wu is faced with a difficult decision. Either head back toward park control and face Owen's wrath, or try to make it the several miles to the ferry landing on foot, with numerous large, powerful wild animals lurking in the jungle.

Anxious to find a third option, takes out his cellphone and dials Hoskins' number.

The other line merely rings for a while before Hoskins manages to pick up. "Wu? What's going on?"

Wu says to himself, "Hoskins, thank god," before he answers. "Look, I, uh….I'm out by the mosasaur stadium, no one else is here. I need someone to come pick me up."

About 30 seconds pass before Wu gets another answer. "Look Wu, I was able to get away from the rest of ACU, so talk – what the fuck is going on over there?"

"Grady knows," Wu says. "Or, he's close to finding out at least. I tried to leave park control, but the minute he saw I was gone, he ran after me. I made it out in his jeep, but one of the tires is flat. I need to get to the ferry landing," he adds quickly.

Wu can almost picture Hoskins putting his face in his palm. "Jesus Fucking Christ, Wu. We're in the middle of something important, I'm not running a goddamn taxi service!"

"Hey, you listen here," Wu says. "If I go back to park control and tell Owen everything, you're going down just as hard as I am. So either send someone out here, or you're fucked."

"Don't try to play tough guy with me, Wu," Hoskins says derisively. "You're a limp-dick science major who's way out of his element. I could always just leave you out there, let the dinosaurs take care of you. Wouldn't need to worry about you blabbing then."

Wu's blood runs cold. "You…wouldn't…"

Hoskins pauses. "I wouldn't, but I could. Remember that. I'm in charge here, so you do exactly as I say. With any luck, we'll both make it out of here, Scott free. You got that?"

Licking his lips, Wu answers. "I get it."

"Good," Hoskins says. "Now where exactly are you?"

"I'm by the-" Wu begins, but is immediately cut off when a sharp, stabbing pain cuts into his left calf and something tugs him so hard he falls flat on his face. Before he can even notice the tooth that falls out when his face hits the pavement, he is dragged off the road and into the surrounding forest. He feels himself come to a stop, only to feel something heavy and sharp stab him in the back.

A face looms down from about 10 feet over him. Its short-snouted, and bears a small pair of horns of its yellow, shining eyes. The squat mouth opens up to reveal small, need-like teeth and it engulfs his entire head. At first, Wu knows nothing the teeth piercing through his face, and the _Carnotaurus'_ hot breath blasting his nose. But after a few more minutes, Wu knows nothing at all.

Back on the pavement, the walk talkie likes face up, Hoskins voice crying through the speakers. "Wu!? Wu, do you hear me?! Fucking damnit!"


	40. Chapter 38 - The Plan

Barry rounds a corner by the foot of the eastern mountains, heading south toward the raptor pen. Beside him, an ACU trooper sits in the front seat, stoically staring out in front of him. As they reach the end of the road leading to the pen, the MVU's headlights reveal an unfamiliar setting to Barry. Despite having and lived on this part of the island, he doesn't recognize the mobile command unit parked next to his and Owen's bungalow, nor the swarm of soldiers hustling from one position to the other. Harsh lights illuminate the paddock from the outside, and Barry can hear the curious, anxious calls of its four inhabitants. He has no idea why he was ordered to report to the raptor pen, and the sight of so many ACU does nothing to alleviate his worries.

He pulls up to the side of the road and exits the vehicle, the trooper doing the same on his end. For a moment, Barry just stands with his hands at his sides, waiting to be instructed as to what to do next. "Someone called for me?" he calls out to no one in particular.

One of the soldiers approaches him and says, "Sir, Hoskins requested your presence."

"Yeah, got that much," Barry says. "What for?"

"This way, please," he says, directing Barry to follow him with his rifle.

Barry follows without objection. As he gets closer, he sees the other handlers gathered by the side of the paddock wall, all looking just as confused as he is. When he gets closer to them, he asks, "What's going on? Where's Owen?"

"Mr. Grady is currently indisposed," a voice calls out from behind him.

Barry turns around and sees Vic Hoskins striding toward him, two soldiers at his side, stuffing his cellphone in his pocket. Crossing his arms, Barry asks, "What do you mean?"

Hoskins shrugs. "Last I heard, he was out chasing kids with Dearing in the jungle. But that's not why you're all here." Hoskins tries to pause for dramatic effect, but all he manages to do is try Barry's patience even further. "Evacuation isn't going well. The _Indominus_ continues to interfere. Just an hour ago, she took out an entire transport van loaded with civilians, including two small children, and Mr. Masrani."

Now his words seem to have an actual effect on the handlers. Barry softens a bit before asking. "What does that have to do with us?"

"The _Indominus_ possesses an array of genetic abilities that make her virtually untraceable by even the most advanced technology. We have the guns, but we can't kill her if we don't find her. And if we don't find and kill her, then she'll continue to wreak havoc on our evacuation procedures."

"What's your point?" Barry asks.

Hoskins gets to within just a few feet of him. "The _Indominus_ can camouflage visually, thermally, and even interfere with sonar tracking. However…one thing she cannot mask is he scent."

Something clicks instantly in Barry's mind, and he immediately goes on the defensive. "No, absolutely not."

"Just hear me out," Hoskins says, putting up his hands. "The _Indominus_ has been popping up all over the park with no rhyme or reason to her behavior. She's the biggest obstacle toward getting people off of this island alive. Believe me, I wouldn't be here unless this was absolutely necessary."

"Hoskins," Barry says, "These are wild animals, not blood hounds. They've never been out of containment before, there's no knowing what they would do, how they would react."

"I've seen these things in action," Hoskins says, ignoring him. "I know for a fact you guys do scent drills with them, I've seen it. I know they can do this."

"Absolutely they can," Barry says, speaking louder and clearer. "But I told you, they're wild animals. The question isn't can they, it's will they. They could simply decide to run off, in which case, that's four more dangerous predators loose on the island."

Hoskins waves him off. "Oh, what's four more raptors compared to everything else that's out there." Barry tries to interject, but Hoskins keeps going. "The fact is, your animals are the only chance we have of getting everyone off this island alive."

"I won't risk it," Barry says, standing up straight. "If these animals were set free, you have no idea how bad it could end. So let me be perfectly clear with you – no Velociraptors are going to be set loose on this island."

Hoskins frowns and glares at Barry. "How many more people have to die before this plan starts to get through to you?" Hoskins says, his voice bordering on yelling. "How many more toddlers have to be slaughtered before you decide to fucking do something about this. When this is all over, and this story gets out, do you wanna be the guy who wouldn't take a risk to save people's lives? Do you want to be the coward who let people die because he was too much of a pussy to take a chance?"

Hoskins' face s mere inches from Barry's by now, flecks of spittle flying onto his cheeks. But Barry doesn't move an inch. His silence reinforces his position.

After nearly a minute of staring daggers at him, Hoskins backs a few steps away. "Alright, boss," he says in a dangerously quiet voice.

Hoskins moves to turn around, only to spin around in a flash of motion, a glock suddenly in his right hand. "NOBODY MOVE!" Hoskins says before the sign of the gun can cause any kind of reaction from everyone around him. "Nobody move!" The ACU soldiers stand by, not reacting outwardly, but growing frantically nervous as the situation escalates. Hoskins points the gun at one of the raptor handlers – a younger man, in his late twenties.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Barry says in a quiet, tense voice.

A smile flickers briefly on Hoskins voice before he says, "I'm ensuring your cooperation in this. Now, either help me find the Indominus, or I'm going to fucking shoot this kid."

Barry's first instinct is to call Hoskins' bluff. Surely, if Hoskins was so concerned with saving peoples' lives, then he'd never do something so reckless. But Barry isn't so frivolous about people's safety as Hoskins to put one of his co-workers' lives on the line just to call a bluff. He looks carefully into Hoskins eyes, looking for any hint of the willingness to kill that he recognizes all too easily from history working with predators. What he sees is desperation, the kind that can drive even the most docile creatures to act maliciously.

But even then, he can't bring himself to agree to Hoskins demands. He'd had enough nightmares about the four of his girls escaping before. "You wouldn't," he eventually decides to say.

Before the last word even leaves Barry's voice, Hoskins squeezes the trigger, blasting the kid in the shin, the explosion of the gun fire soon eclipsed by the screams coming from the victim. The other handlers all suddenly rush to his aid as he crumples to the ground, blood stains growing on his pant leg.

Barry looks a Hoskins with a horrified, disdainful look. But Hoskins remains calm and simply says, "Try me again. Just fucking try."

Zach's eyelids begin to droop once more as he stares blankly at the monitor, skimming the text lazily and only catching the occasional word here or there. Nothing exciting has happened since Owen sprang from his chair to chase after Dr. Wu, only to narrowly miss him in the parking lot. He'd come back to the control room, uttering a few choice swear words, only to clam up and blush when he remembers the 11 year old in the room. After that, he and Claire spent a good deal of time talking about what to do, only to settle on trying to figure it out later.

In his feeble attempts at trying to aid the investigation, Zach scribbles down a few notes:

 _Grows Fast_  
 _Eats a lot_  
 _Nasty_

Though he knows that these are unlikely to yield anything truly helpful.

To his left, Grey suddenly perks up. "Hey! Hey!" he calls over to Owen, "Come over here! Take a look at this!

Owen leans over him and says, "Whatcha got?"

"So, I noticed that, starting back in February 2014, the keepers stated writing down things like this," he says, pointing to the screen.

When Owen takes a look, he sees a few sentences typed out in the 'additional notes' section.

 _I. rex still nasty as nasty as ever. At around 6:15 or so, she started roaring, for seemingly no reason. Stopped after about 5 minutes._

"Well, it keeps going on like this," Grey says, scrolling through the reports. Each one includes similar notes about the _Indominus_ roaring continuously for nearly five minutes every night before sundown. This feature is ubiquitous among all the subsequent reports for the next 7 months. After September, the keeper reports note that the behavior decreases in frequency, the _I. rex_ dong it only about once a week.

"This means something," Owen says quietly nodding to himself. "Good work, kid," he says, patting Grey on the back. "So, she started roaring after about a year or so…always in the evening, for about five minutes or so…why would an animal do that…" Owen says to himself, starting to pace.

"Animals usually only vocalize like this for two reasons," Grey says. "To attract a mate and to warn others against invading their territory."

"Right…right…" Owen says contemplating both options. He can't fathom the _Indominus_ being interested in mating, though he can't rule it out as a possible motivator. The drive to mate is one of the primary instincts that drives behavior for most animals. The idea of defending a territory makes more sense to Owen. Her hostility and aggression would certainly make her extremely territorial. But then, why wait until after a year? Suddenly remembering her accelerated growth rate, he says, "That's probably when she reached sexual maturity. Dinosaurs reach sexual maturity long before they're finished growing."

"So you think it's a mating call?" Grey asks.

"Either a mating call…or trying to drive off a sexual competitor…" Owen says. "But then the question becomes, what is she calling to?"

"She doesn't necessarily need to be calling to anything," Gray says. "Captive animals often engage in wild behaviors without the presence of the original, natural stimulus."

"True…but I wonder…" he says, sitting back down at his own computer and going into the keeper reports for a different creature. Going to the folder for February 2014, he looks at notes on the animal's behavior at the time. When he sees it, he claps his hands together. "That's it! That's got to be it!"

"What?" Grey says, rolling his chair over to Owen.

"Okay, so Wu told me years ago that the _I. rex's_ base genome is that of a _T. rex_. So I wondered if maybe she was calling to the rex in the park. Now, take a look at this," he says, directing Grey's attention to the screen.

Grey reads the text and says, "She started roaring during that time as well!"

"Exactly!" Owen says. "The two can probably smell each other, and once the _I. rex_ reached sexual maturity…"

"But does the _T. rex_ view the _I. rex_ as a potential mate, or a competitor?" Grey asks.

"I don't know," Owen says, "But-" and he gets up from his seat and goes over to the opposite side of the control room, where a large, paper map of Isla nublar is taped to the wall next to Claire's office. Along this way, he grabs a black marker from Lowery's desk, who tries to object at first, only to give up once he realizes he doesn't truly care. "Okay, so she started here," he says, drawing a point on the map with his marker behind the Western mountains, "and then was next spotted here, just South of the aviary," and he makes the accompanying mark. "The chopper drove her northwards, through the aviary and into the gyrosphere valley, where she lost her implant. She got caught up in a stampede going even further North until she reached the restricted section. But we know that after that, she back tracked South, where she was spotted in the Jurassic Thrill Zone." When Owen connects the points with a line, he stands back and examines her route carefully.

Owen nods, and says, "This is it. This has got to be it. She's been trying to work her way toward the Tyrannosaur paddock, but her path has been derailed time and time again by us."

"So what does this mean?" Zach says, still at his computer.

"It means we can use this to our advantage," Owen says. "If we can get a sample from the rex – skin, dung, urine, anything like that – we might be able to use that to lure her away from the evacuation area." Owen is about to go tell Claire the good news, but he is interrupted by his cell phone, which he feels vibrating in his back pocket. When he goes to check it, he sees that it's Barry who's calling him. "Uh, Grey, why don' t you go tell your aunt what we learned, alright?"

"Okay," Grey says, running off to tell Claire.

Owen answers his phone. "Barry?"

"Owen, thank god!" Barry's voice rings from the other line. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Park Control," Owen says, immediately growing concerned. "I was out helping Clare look for her nephews, but I'm back now. What's going on."

"The head of ACU, this Hoskins guy, he gathered all the raptor trainers together at the pen, and…well, he's got this insane plan to use the raptors hunt down the _Indominus_!"

"WHAT?!" Owen says in a voice loud enough to turn all heads in the room. "He can't!"

"I tried to tell him that," Barry says. Owen notices that his voice is surprisingly low, and he can guess why. "But he threatened us to force our cooperation. He even went so far as to shoot Brandon in the shin!"

"Jesus Christ!" Owen says, spinning in place from the sheer audacity of what he's hearing.

"He's got an entire squadron of ACU troopers here, there's nothing we can do. He's desperate to find and kill the _Indominus_ , and the thinks the only way to track it down is for the raptors to follow its scent."

"Look, Barry, you've got to stop him. We've found another way, tell him that we've found another way to track her down," Own says.

"What? How?" Barry asks.

"Nevermind that now," Owen says.

But Barry pushes. "Owen, you don't understand. Hoskins isn't in his right mind, he's going to want to know exactly what this other plan is."

"Basically, we think the _Indominus_ is attracted to the Tyrannosaur, she's been trying to make it to the _T. rex_ paddock this whole time, but she keeps getting derailed," Owen says, trying to be as succinct as possible.

"What makes you think that?" Barry asks.

"The keeper reports indicate that the _Indominus_ started vocalizing at nightfall after reaching sexual maturity. The _T. rex_ started doing the same thing at around the same time. We don't know if the _I. rex_ views the _T. rex_ as a potential mate or a potential threat, but either way, that's what's driving her behavior."

"Alright…" Barry says, pausing to think about this new development. "Alright, okay, let me try to see if I can persuade him not to go through with this."

"Alright," Owen says. "Be careful."

"Do my best," Barry says.

Owen hears the other line disconnect, and puts his phone away.

"What's going on, what's happening?" Claire says, coming up to him, Grey by her side.

"Hoskins wants to use the raptors as glorified, half-assed blood hounds to hunt down the _Indominus_ ," Owen says.

"Cool!' Grey says.

"No, not cool!" Own says. "Very much not cool, the complete and utter opposite of cool. Last thing we need is four more predators loose on this island."

"You don't think it will work, do you?" Claire asks, not fully aware of the implications of such an experiment.

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it will work perfectly, maybe it will go off without a hitch. You know, just like everything else that's happened today has," he says, shaking his head. "Anything could happen. They could just do exactly as they're told, they could run away and never come back, they could just turn around and attack the handlers on sight."

"Why would they do that, they've known you since they hatched?" Claire asks.

"It's not that simple," Own says, pacing anxiously from one end of the control room to the other. "Wild animals are inherently unpredictable. There' no way of knowing how they will react, but I am very skeptical that things will work out like Hoskins is hoping they will. I just hope Barry will be able to convince him to abort."

"What if he can't?" Claire asks, stopping Owen in his tracks.


	41. Chapter 39 - Raptors

Echo sits in place, her snout firmly held in a metallic holster. The head piece acts to keep her from snapping at any loose hands that come near her face, however fiercely she may want to. Ordinarily, she and her sisters would find themselves in this position to have their teeth cleaned, or their eyes examined. But as she looks out into the outside world, she sees things strange and new. There are far more people now than ever before, almost all dressed entirely in black, carrying large weapons. Alien devices and vehicles are parked not far away, but most curiously of all, bizarre objects are being strapped to her head. The same is true for the other three as well.

Hoskins monitors the action carefully as cameras are mounted to the sides of the raptors' faces, each one struggling uncomfortably to be let back into the pen. They rock back and forth forcefully, snarling each time one of the soldiers deigns to touch their feathery coats. "How are they looking?" Hoskins asks the soldier as he finishes fastening the straps on Echo.

"Let's take a look," he replies, leading Hoskins to a small laptop monitor, displaying a direct feed from Echo's mounted camera.

Hoskins gives a satisfied smile, which fades quickly as he sees Barry striding over toward them determinedly. "Jesus, what now," Hoskins says quietly.

"Hoskins," Barry says. "You don't have to do this."

"You got a better idea," Hoskins asks rhetorically.

Despite the insincerity of the question, Barry answers. "Yes, there is."

Taken aback, Hoskins' eyebrow cocks, and he says, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I just got off the phone with Owen," he says. "He believes he's discovered a way to track down the _Indominus_ , without raptors."

"What?" Hoskins says, suddenly filled with excitement. "How?"

Barry takes a moment to remember exactly what Owen had told him, and to try and recount it as clearly and accurately as possible. "Owen has told me that the _Indominus_ is attracted to the _Tyrannosaurus_. She's been trying to make it to the Tyrannosaur paddock ever since she escaped, but she keeps being derailed."

"'Attracted to the-' what the hell are you talking about?" Hoskins says.

Barry speaks slowly and deliberately. "According to the keeper reports, both the _Indominus_ started vocalizing at the same time after she reached sexual maturity."

Hoskins doesn't appear impressed. "So? How do you know the two are related to each other? How do you even know the thing was sexually mature when it started?"

"I'm not sure, Owen didn't explain," Barry says. "But I'm sure that that he has good reason for-"

Hoskins cuts him off. "We don't have time for this. I'm not gonna put pause on this operation because you fellas have a hunch."

"It's more than a hunch!" Barry says, chasing after Hoskins as he turns away back toward the raptors. "Owen knows more about animal behavior than anyone else I've ever met. If he has reason to believe this, than so do I."

Hoskins spins around, frustrated, and says, "Let's pretend that this guess is totally right. What then, huh? What's the plan?"

"Owen didn't say-" Barry begins.

"What do you think, I'm some kind of idiot?" Hoskins asks.

Barry tries not to answer truthfully. "Hoskins, you've got to see how this is a far more sensible alternative to letting the raptors out!"

"You have no proof, no plan. Meanwhile, that thing is still out there, and god knows how many more people it could kill before we do something. There is no alternative!"

"Just give it time!"

"There is no time!" Hoskins shouts at Barry, saliva slapping him in the face. "This ends now. Or do you want another demonstration?" He fingers the grip of his glock. Barry goes tight lipped, though he glares furiously at Hoskins. "That's what I thought," Hoskins says. "Now gear up – we're moving out."

"How are they supposed to find It without a sample?" Barry asks, hoping that this obstacle might be enough to put a stop to Hoskins.

A soldier goes up to Hoskins carrying something wrapped in a white towel. Hoskins takes it from him and shows it to Barry. "Who says we don't have a sample?" Unwrapping the towel, he reveals a blinking, electronic beacon, surrounded by pieces of blooded flesh and skin. "Apparently, she clawed this out just south of the gyrosphere valley. I think it'll do just nicely." Hoskins hold out the skin sample to Barry, who takes it only after pausing to give a frustrated huff.

The soldiers release the metallic harnesses holding the raptors in place, and the animals back out quickly into the paddock. Barry goes around to the other side, to the emergency release hatch. The pen was never built with the intention of letting the raptors out, so there is no easy access for them to leave. Instead, the emergency hatch connects them to a secure shelter in case of bad weather, each one with a make-shift stable. The stables ensure that each raptors has her own space, to prevent squabbling in case of a prolonged stay.

Barry goes over to the hatch and opens up small openings in each stable before pressing a button on the side that opens up a door to the inside. Automatically curious about the new space, all four raptors dart quickly into the shelter, each one instinctively settling into their own stable. They poke the ends of their snouts of the openings, sniffing the air and registering the familiar odor of Barry.

Barry holds up a bucket of dead rats, hoping that these treats will placate the raptors enough to obey. "Alright," he says, preparing for the worst. "Blue – stay."

Blue immediately stops fidgeting inside the stable, growing quiet and still. Feeling only the slightest bit relieved, Barry picks up a rat and holds it out toward her. Blue snaps up the offering by the head, gulping it down quickly. Barry does the same with the other three, all of them in apparently cooperative moods.

He takes a deep breath in preparation for the next part. "Okay," he says. "Scent drill: hide and seek. Hide and seek," he speaks, making sure his words are as clear as he can make them, his accent almost indistinguishable as he tries to make sure they understand what is asked of them

The raptors respond by sniffing the air frantically searching for the target. Barry holds up the _Indominus_ sample for them to smell, giving each raptor about 10 seconds to get a good scent profile. Once Barry is sure that they've got it, he walks about 50 feet away to an ATV parked at the head of the ACU caravan. Hoskins stays in the mobile command hunt, while soldiers bearing rifles loaded with armor-piercing rounds and rocket launchers are loaded into three jeeps.

Swallowing a horrible lump in his throat, Barry looks up to one his fellow handlers standing over the emergency hatch, his hand hovering nervously over a button. Cold sweat crawling down Barry's dark, bald skull, he gives a small nod, which the other keeper returns.

For a brief, fleeting moment, everything around them freezes. A buzzer sounds out over the pen. The doors to the stables fly open and four feathery blurs dash out before any of them can blink. Barry fires up the ATV and calls out to the ACU, "Raptors are on the move!" The vehicles push forward, taking a few seconds to build up enough speed to catch up to the raptors.

The jungle foliage envelops Barry as he speeds through the underbrush, making sure to stick to the beaten paths and roads as much as possible. Though the ATV can cover rough terrain, he doesn't want to push the luck he's already had so far. He's already impressed the raptors didn't abandon the mission instantly and attack. His headlights do only so much to pierce through the shadow of the forest, but he can hear the pounding footsteps and bird-like calls of the raptors as they charge through the trees.

He catches Delta's tail feathers in his headlights, her whole body following soon afterwards. Up next his Echo, followed by Charlie, and with Blue leading the pack. He guns the engines, bringing the ATV right up alongside the dinosaurs. As he comes up upon Delta, her eyes flash toward him, only to shift back to the path ahead. Barry looks to his left, and sees Echo do the same. A sudden realization hits him – these creatures, these beautiful, intelligent, powerful creatures, which he had hand raised since birth, truly do view him as one of their own. They do not break off and attack, even now when they are free to do so. They keep to their assignment. And as the pack moves forward as a singular unit, Barry can't help but smile with pride.

In unison, the raptors bank left, heading west and maintaining their speed. Barry follows them. He hears Hoskins voice over his headset. "That's it boys, keep it going. At this rate, we'll find her in no time."

Their trek continues for another 10 minutes or so before anything changes. It first happens to Blue, who comes to a sudden halt in the middle of the jungle. The other three follow suit, though Barry's ATV can't stop nearly as quickly as they can, and even as he grips the break, he speeds right past them. He turn back to look at them, not daring to get any closer until he knows precisely what they're doing.

The stand in place, cocking their heads and turning their necks from one side to the other. It looks to Barry as if they've found something. They sniff the air in a cautious, curious fashion. Blue stands tall, throws back her head, and lets out a loud caw. Barry recognizes the sound as a rallying call which Blue uses whenever she wants to summon the other three. Barry is confused at first because the pack is all here, but his confusion is answered just a few moments later.

Another caw sounds off from somewhere in the distance.

"What the-?" Barry whisper to himself.

Hoskins voice comes over the headset again. "Talk to me, Barry, what's going on over there? Why have they stopped?"

"I'm…I'm not sure…?" Barry answers truthfully.

Blue caws again, followed soon by Echo and Delta. Their three caws are answered by a chorus somewhere miles away. At first Barry thinks that one of the park's other dinosaurs might have mistaken the call for one of their own, but the calls are unmistakably raptorial. After a few more sessions of call and reply, Blue turns to the direction of the caws and runs off, the other three following closely behind.

"Jesus," Barry says, firing up the engines again and following them as they go.

"Barry, what's going on? Are they back on track?" Hoskins asks.

"I'm not sure," Barry says. It's mostly a lie, as he is almost positive that they are no longer on the trail of the _Indominus_. The pack winds its way further westward, traveling several miles in several minutes. Though Barry doubts that they're still tracking the I. rex, their actions are nonetheless extremely deliberate. They are definitely chasing something, though what that something is, Barry can't fathom.

As they reach the forest behind the park, just miles from the Innovation center, the raptors begin to slow down. They don't come to a complete stop, but they go from running, to trotting, to waling, to prowling carefully through the dense bush. Barry slows the ATV, keeping a significant distance between the dinosaurs and himself. They probe the air and ground with their snouts, giving out small hoots and clicking the naked ends of their jaws. If they have been looking for something, then Barry guesses that whatever it is must be close.

Blue comes to a stop in small clearing in the middle of a small grove of trees. She turns her head from one side to the other, as if expecting something that isn't there. Barry slowly gets up off the ATV and crouches low in the ferns, taking out a pair of night vision goggles to see the action more clearly.

Blue caws once more, only this time, the answer is much closer. Keeping his eyes on the scene, Barry watches as something emerges from the surrounding forest. At first, he assumes that it's another raptor, though that's not quite the case. Though this creature bears the same size, shape, and profile of his raptors, it is covered in dry, scaly skin, almost giving it the appearance of a huge, bipedal lizard. Instead of claws wings folded at the side, this new creature bears a pair of arms, with hands and fingers held against the body, the palms facing downward. One feature that is definitely the same between them though are the eyes – both shining yellow, with vertical slit pupils like a cat or viper, though strangely, the scaly one has different colored eyes: one yellow, one blue. The newcomer is dull brown, with noticeable scarification along her snout and body, and it is missing both a finger and a piece of her tail.

It is not alone. All around the four raptors, reptilian forms materialize out of the night, all eyeing the feathery foursome with sinister curiosity. Though clearly outnumbered, Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo do not appear afraid. They turn their heads almost playfully, looking over the strange new creatures from every angle, their penetrating minds torn between the obvious similarities and differences.

Barry is about to speak, but Hoskins takes the words right out of his mouth. "What the fuck?"

Blue and the first of the new creatures approach each other slowly, each one extending their neck out to gently tap each other with the tips of their snouts. The scaly raptor gives a soft hoot, which Blue replies to accordingly. The largely amicable, though tense meeting fills Barry with equal parts terror and fasciation. There's no knowing where this meeting can go, and yet Barry can see very clearly the communication happening between them. One thing that the two must share is a cunning mind.

Barry's observation is interrupted by Hoskins voice coming in through the headset. "Barry get outta there."

Before Barry can answer, the jeeps pull up and stop about fifty feet behind him, soldiers pouring out by the dozen. The sudden appearance of bright lights and the flurry of doors opening and voices barking orders causes all the raptors to suddenly shift their attention, the naked ones hissing viciously. Barry hears Hoskins orders come in through his own headset. "Alpha squad, cover the rear, Bravo spread out in front-"

Suddenly realizing what's about to happen, Barry stands up and calls out to the soldiers, "No, no, no, don't shoot! Whatever you do, don't shoot!" The soldiers ignore him. Calling through the headset, Barry tells Hoskins, "You've got to stop this, now!"

"Get the hell out of there Barry!" Hoskins shouts back. "Let ACU take care of this."

"You don't know what you're doing!" Barry says.

"For the last time Barry, get out of there, now!" Hoskins says, unrelenting. "I know these things!"

That last line sends red flags going up in Barry's mind, but he has no time to consider them as the wild raptors slink off and disappear into the surrounding plant-matter. Meanwhile, the four feathered ones are swiveling their heads from side to side, totally unsure of what's going on around them. Barry hears Hoskins gives the order to fire, and the night lights up with the explosion of gunfire ringing all around him. By now, only the original four remain as obvious targets, and one of the bullets manages to strike Charlie on the tip of her tail, causing her to cry out in pain. Caught between the two sides, the raptors choose the side that isn't firing on them, and follow their genetic cousins into the bush.

Anticipating what's going to happen next, Barry abandons his spot and gets back onto his ATV, getting out of there as fast as he can.

The hurricane of gunfire ceases as the soldiers lose sight of their targets. Even with night-vision, the raptors remain all but undetectable, using the forest as cover to mount an ambush. Lacking the expertise of Owen or Barry, the soldiers have no way to speculate on the pack's behavior, nor any way to realize the trap being set for then. Loud hoots and snarls sound off from one direction, a lone raptor darting out from under cover for only a second. It's enough for some of the soldiers to fire at the empty space, catching nothing but leaves in their rounds.

With their attention all focused on that single spot, none of them notice when a trio of raptors springs from the underbrush and catches three of the soldiers by complete surprise. By the time the rest of ACU has rounded on the raptors to fire, the soldiers are eviscerated, and the raptors gone.

And so it plays out, again and again. The raptors use their calls to draw the attention of the soldiers one way, only for other members of the pack to silently sneak behind them take out the soldiers two to three at a time. The four feathered raptors, once originally Hoskins' salvation, are now integrated fully into the wild pack. Human hostility drove the decision, and the hunt solidifies their place in the pecking order.


	42. Chapter 40 - The Final Pieces

As Lowery takes a few sips from his soda – now warm and mostly made of ice – he shuts off the power to his computer. All around him, other park control staff are either preparing to log off, or else already on their way to the elevators. Beside him, Vivian stands holding her cardigan. "Almost ready?"

"Yeah, just about." Lowery says, throwing his soda into the trash. He takes a moment to wonder who, if anyone, will be around to take out the garbage. Getting up out of his chair, he and Vivian make their way toward the elevator with the others. Lowery stops by Claire and asks, "Are you sure you wanna stay?"

"I'm sure," Claire says. "It's only fair I be the last."

"As long as you're sure…" Lowery says with a shrug.

Clare asks him, "When was she last seen?"

"Uh, about an hour ago, maybe? Sector three. Took out another van." Lowery says.

"Right…right…" Claire says with a solemn nod.

"Do you want us to take your nephews with us?" Lowery says.

Claire smiles. "Thanks Lowery, but I already asked them. They want to stay with me."

"Really?" Lowery asks. "Wonder why."

"I think Grey was unnerved by the idea of leaving the control room," Claire says, her eyes falling on Grey across the room for a moment.

"He's gonna have to leave sometime," Lowery says.

"I know," she says. "But putting it off can't hurt, right?" Claire's not entirely sure that she believes her own words.

"Well, take care, Claire," Lowery says, slightly amused by his own impromptu rhyme. "Maybe I'll see you when this all blows over."

Claire shrugs. "Who knows?" She extends her right hand, and Lowery takes it. "Take care, Lowery. And the same to you, Vivian," she says, offering her hand to Vivian as well.

Most of the lights in the control room go out as all the monitors shut down, including the large screen in front displaying the whole of the park. Zach and Grey are sitting in Claire's office, napping in her chairs. With most of the control staff now gathered by the elevator, the only one left besides Claire and her nephews is Owen, who is standing up against the wall on the other side. She approaches him slowly and quietly. "Any word?"

"None."

"Okay," she says with a sigh. "Well, they say no news is good news right?"

"Could also mean Barry's dead," Owen says.

"Are you sure it's worth it to hang around?" Claire asks. "I mean… even if something does go wrong, I can't imagine there's much you can do about it."

"A. ll depends on what happened," Owen says.

Claire shrugs. "Alright. You're the expert here."

The elevator doors open, and to everyone's surprise, Barry pushes through the crowd gathered around the outside. "Owen!" he calls out, catching sight of Owen across the room.

Owen springs into action at the sight of Barry, heading over to meet him. "Barry, what is it, what happened?"

"The raptors, they've gone rogue," Barry says, panting slightly.

"Goddamn it!" Owen says, slamming his fist down on one of the tables.

"But it's worse than that," Barry says. "At first, when we began the scent drill everything was going fine. The girls were staying on track, keeping to the mission. For a second I thought it might actually work…but then, as they were following the scent….something…something happened."

"What?" Owen asks,

"They caught another scent. This one caused them to issue rallying calls, and….they were answered!" Barry says, barely believing something he witnessed himself. "They followed the answering calls, and it led them to these…these creatures."

"Oh no…" Owen says, resting his forehead in his hand,

Barry is confused. "Wat, do… do you know what…?"

"Were they like our girls, but scaly and lizard-like?" Owen asks.

Growing even more confused, Barry asks, "How did you-?"

"It's a long story," Owen says. "Basically, that so-called nature preserve in the North of the Island? It's actually home to remnants of the first generation of dinosaurs from the old park. Those are raptors bred from more fragmented, incomplete DNA."

Barry looks from Owen to Claire, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "I-I-…wha-…..How-how long have you known this?"

"I just learned this a few hours ago," Owen says, "Others however..."

"Hey, even I didn't know about it until years after the park was opened," Claire says defensively.

"Not important right now," Owen says, trying to back track the conversation. "What happened when our raptors met the old raptors?"

"At first, there was this… I'm not sure. It looked as though both were curious about each other, and I think there might have been some kind of communication between Blue and their pack leader. To be honest, it was actually fascinating…until ACU showed up and shot Charlie in the tail."

"Fuck!" Owen yells, only for Claire to shove him in the shoulder and point to the kids still sleeping in her office. "Is she hurt?"

"Physically, I don't think so," Barry says. "But I think ACU may have done irreparable damage to their trust in humans. In the commotion, it looks as though they might have been absorbed into the wild pack."

"Oh no," Owen says, pacing anxiously.

"What's the problem?" Claire says. "With everyone evacuated, they'd have died if they were just left in the pen eventually. At least now they have a chance."

"They've been raised with people all their lives, they don't know how to relate to an entirely wild-raised pack. Who knows how those things communicate or organize? These aren't instinctual behaviors, they're learned, and our girls haven't learned them! If they make a wrong move, the rest of the pack could rip them apart!" Owen turns to Barry and asks. "Where did this happen?"

"A few miles North of here," Barry says.

Without warning, he spins around and heads toward the elevator, picking up his rifle along the way. Claire trails after him asking, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm gonna try to bring them back," he says without looking back.

"Owen, are you nuts?" Claire asks. "You can't go out there! Not with the _Indominus_ still running around, along with god knows how many other predators."

"I have to," he says simply.

"What's the point?" Claire asks. "The evacuation is nearly complete, we're all going to be getting off this island soon enough. One way or another, you're going to have to leave them behind!"

Owen turns back to look at her, and the two simply stare at each other for a moment. Owen looks down to the ground before looking back at her. "I've raised those four since they hatched. I've patched up their wounds, fed them by hand. I know this doesn't make sense….but this is something I feel I have to do."

Barry nods. Still not entirely sure, Claire sighs and says, "Fine, if you feel you have to do this, who am I to say no?"

"I mean… not to ruin my own moment, but you are technically my boss.." Owen says.

"I'm the director of a park that doesn't exist anymore, and never will again," Claire says with a defeated chuckle. "Just go. And do your best to make it back."

"Will do," he says with a nod. As the elevator doors open once more, he steps inside and descends.

The only vehicle in the employee parking lot is the ATV that Barry rode in on. More than suitable for his purposes, Owen hops onto the seat and speeds out of the lot, onto the dirt road, and then through the trees into the forest.

Back in the control room, there is no one left by Claire, Barry, Zach, and Grey, who are starting to stir from their nap. Claire checks her phone, and sees that she's received a text from one of the drivers. "It looks like the last transport van is on its way."

Barry nods.

"I'll get the kids. They're planning on meeting us on Main Street, just outside the Innovation center," She says as she makes her way to her office. The kids are still fairly groggy, but are now mostly fully awake. She leans down to get closer to Grey and says, "Okay, sweety, it's time to go."

Grey sits up, suddenly more awake than before. "It is? Are you sure?"

"We're the last ones left," Claire says. "You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

"No," Grey says, reluctantly getting off the chair. Zach stretches before following the other two out of Claire's office to meet Barry by the elevator. Once they make it down, they pass by the Hammond Creation Lab and through the main exhibit hall of the Innovation center. Claire doesn't remember the last time the building was this quiet – the voice overs and ambient music all silent, and the various monitors and displays are turned off.

The font doors are propped open, Main Street just barely visible outside. The pavement is littered with shards of broken glass, half eaten food, and the rotting or skeletonized remains of both tourists and escaped pterosaurs. None of the streets lights are on, the only illumination coming from the moon and stars above, glistening off pools of stagnant water sitting all along the street.

The four of them hover expectantly by the doorway, waiting for the van to come up the street and pull up by the steps to the Innovation Center. They don't have long to wait. About 15 minutes later, they see the headlights rounding the corner by a churro stand. The sight fills Claire and the kids with excitement, knowing that this nightmare will soon be over.

CRASH

They hear the sound before they realize exactly what's happened. The roof of the van is caved in completely, the headlights shattered from the pressure. On top, a huge, bony, lobed club sporting four immense spikes sits imbedded in the point of contact. The weapon is connected to the end of a long whip-like tail, extending away from the object, behind a Starbucks. The impact kills the van – as well as the driver – on the spot, leaving it completely disabled in the middle of the street.

The sight causes Grey and Claire to call out in shock, and Barry and Zach to utter a few choice expletives. They watch as the _Indominus_ emerges from behind the coffee shop, approaching the crippled vehicle with a look in its eyes that can only be described as relish. Reaching forward with one of its scythe-like claws, it effortlessly tears into the battered roof and tears it off like a person opening a can of sardines. It slides its long, black, forked-tongue into the van, wrapping both prongs around the bloody body of the driver and lifting him up into its mouth, which slams shut like a bear trap around him.

She turns her head to look directly at them, both of her eyes clearly visible even from the front. If she could smile, then she probably would be. As it is, all they can see are the interlocking, gnarly teeth sticking out of her closed jaws. Nonetheless, there is no mistaking the sense that she is taunting them, knowing that even if she can't reach them, there's no way they're getting past her.

As if growing bored of teasing them, she swings her bulky head to the left and lets out a tremendous roar, the sound waves reverberating through their bodies. From not too far off, they hear the answering roar of the _T. rex_. Knowing that the object of her pursuit is close at hand, the _Indominus_ prowls up and down Main Street, keeping an eye on the Innovation Center, lest the four of them try to escape.


	43. Chapter 41 - Revelations

Owen races through the dense jungle foliage as fast as he dares over the uneven, broken terrain. The occasional boulder or low lying tree branch will attempt to block his path, but he is adept at swerving to avoid them. He does his best to keep as straight a route as possible heading north, though he knows full well the difficulty of such a task when driving through the woods, off road. Though he isn't entirely sure of what he's looking for, Owen has a strong feeling that he'll know it when he sees.

The feeling proves true when Owen catches sight of what appears to be a beam of light projecting straight upwards from the forest floor. Bringing the ATV to a halt, he jumps off the driver's seat to get a closer look. The true nature of the light soon reveals itself. It's one of the lights mounted the an ACU trooper's helmet, meant to light the way in the dark of the jungle. All it ended up doing was giving his position away to the enemy. Owen has no idea who the soldier is, or even how old he was, seeing as his face has been almost completely ripped off. Own can't bring himself to look at the mutilated corpse for more than a second, and judging by the blood-stained ferns surrounding him, he's guessing there are many more not too far away.

Much as he detests the sight, Owen forces himself to examine the ground in search of clues that might lead him to the raptors. His best clues come in the form of two-toed, clawed footprints, and the occasional stray feather. However, the tracks are largely scattered, and it's nearly impossible to determine any individual trackways.

His search leads him to an open clearing, where he guesses the initial meeting first happened if the amount of feathers and footprints are anything to go by. Based on what little he tell, the evidence more or less matches what Barry had described. He sees four sets of tracks situated closely together, which he can guess are from his raptors. Another animal approached them from the front, a slightly larger set of the same shape.

As Owen prepares to head off and find them, he is interrupted by a sudden rush of care engines and head lights crashing through the bush. Several jeeps pull up, accompanied by a mobile command station. Soldiers start pouring out of the jeeps, and Hoskins exits the MCU. Upon seeing Hoskins, Owen momentarily forgets the raptors and starts walking over briskly toward Hoskins.

"Well, well" Hoskins says clearly nonplussed as Owen gets closer. "Look who finally decided to-"

But Hoskins is cut off by Owen's swinging fist colliding with his jaw. "You motherfucker, how dare you endanger the lives of both my team and my animals." Owen's voice is quiet, almost soft, but no less furious for it.

Hoskins nurses his jaw before answering. "I did what I thought was best."

"Then you're the biggest dipshit who ever set foot on this island," Owen says, his voice rising slightly. "Including the dinosaurs."

"Well maybe if you weren't off in the wild making goo goo eyes at Dearing, this wouldn't have happened? Huh? You ever think about that?" Hoskins yells.

Owen is not deterred. It's clear that Hoskins' yelling is coming from a feeling of defensiveness. He knows what he did was wrong, but he's not willing to admit it yet. "We warned you, Hoskins," he says. "We told you not to do this, and now it's cost you how many of your men? 10? 15?"

"Don't you dare," Hoskins says, leaning in with balled fists.

But Owen doesn't move. "Oh I dare, asshole. This could have all been prevented if you'd listened to me. They're dead 'cause of you. Now deal with it."

Hoskins looks just about ready to return Owen's punch, but he can't bring himself to do it. "I don't have time for this shit," he says dismissively. "We've got a monster to kill."

"The _Indominus_?" Owen asks. "Hoskins, the evacuation is practically over. Why are you still after this thing?"

Hoskins turns back to Owen, getting right up in his face once more. "That thing is a killing machine! It took out almost all of my men! Those brave soldiers lost their lives to a goddamn freak of science, and I'm not going to let it get away!"

Owen looks into Hoskins, seeing them almost shake in their sockets. He sees the tiniest flinches in the skin just outside of the eyes, as well as a few noticeable blinks from Hoskins. It dawns on Owen in that instant. "You're lying…" he says in a voice just over a whisper.

The words have an instant effect on Hoskins. He leans back slightly, blinks even more, and his eyes soften. "Excuse me?" he says, trying to maintain his anger.

Owen leaps forward, seizes Hoskins by the collar of his shirt and throws him back against a tree. All around him ACU troops point their weapons at him, demanding that he release Hoskins but he ignores them. Their aims are purely for show – there's no chance they'd shoot at Owen with Hoskins just inches away. "This isn't about your soldiers, there's some other reason you're going fucking Ahab on this thing, now tell me, right now, or so help me God, I will smash your head in against this tree till it turns into a redwood."

"You're insane," Hoskins says, not looking at Owen directly.

"Why do you want this thing dead?" Owen persists. "Is it about your career? Fame? Do you want to be known as the one who saved Jurassic World from the monster dinosaur?"

"What are you fucking kidding me? Of course not!" Hoskins says.

Owen sees the honesty in his eyes. "So what then?" he keeps asking. "Everyone on the island is safe, there is no reason to keep going after it. What is the fucking point? Tell me!"

"You're out of your mind," Hoskins says, still avoiding the question.

Getting more frantic and outraged, Owen punches Hoskins right in the eye. "Fucking tell me!"

"Well what the fuck are you doing out here!?" Hoskins shouts back at him, still trying to avoid the issue.

At first Owen tries not to be deterred, but Hoskins question brings to mind his raptors. "Personal business." The minute he says the words, it clicks in his mind. _Personal business_. "You…you have some kind of connection to the _Indominus_ , some kind of personal connection."

"You're fucking crazy!" Hoskins says yet again.

Owen ignores him. "But what, you had nothing to with it. You didn't care for it, you didn't create it-" The subject of the _Indominus'_ creation brings Wu back to the forefront of Owen's mind. Wu had been hiding something, his fleeing the control room made that much clear. But what? Pieces begin connecting from one end of Owen's mind to the other. "You…you know why the Indominus was created the way she was!" Owen says.

Instead of simply shouting, Hoskins begins chuckling, and he looks away from Owen with his eyes closed. "You're just talking crazy."

The difference in Hoskins' reaction speaks volumes to Owen. "You're lying! You know why Wu made the Indominus the way he did!"

Even the soldiers around him start to become interested in this development. "I..I…"

"Tell," punch, "Me," punch, "What," punch, "You," punch, "Know!" Owen says the last word with a final hurl of Hoskins' head against the tree. All over, Hoskins face is dark and bruised, with at least one tooth falling out as a result. Some of Hoskins' blood is on Owen's knuckles.

"Alright… alright…" Hoskins says in a low voice. "Wu had been doing work on genetic hybridization in the years leading up to Masrani's decision to build a new dinosaur park. Masrani put a stop to it when the decision to build the park was made, and he told Wu to focus on breeding dinosaurs again instead. Wu wasn't happy about it. And frankly, neither was. When Ingen brought me on to head their private security division, I wanted to use the incredible genetic technology at their disposal for something far greater than an overpriced petting zoo. Ingen's patented genetic engineering techniques could change the entire world, in ways you can't even imagine.

"Wu and I were the only ones who understood that. I contacted him about the possibility of expanding Ingen's projects into new territory, but Wu told me that Masrani had put a cap on that. But I'm a patient man. I waited. And one day, several years after the park was open, Wu contacted me about a new attraction; a hybrid dinosaur. To us, the _Indominus_ was more than just the latest sideshow for Jurassic World. This was an opportunity. The opportunity we'd been waiting for. Here was our chance to show what this kind of genetic technology could accomplish. Wu and I designed a living weapon unlike anything that's come before; a creature with its own arsenal and defensive systems, with the ability to conceal itself from the most advanced military technology. The visitors would love it, but more than that, Masrani would finally be able to see what we're truly capable of. The _Indominus_ was meant to herald a new age, not just for Jurassic World, not just for Ingen and Masrani Global, but for the entire world."

Owen finally relaxes his grip, backing away from Hoskins with a disgusted look on his face. "This…all of this…is your fault." Hoskins says nothing. "And you were so dead set on hunting it down because you wanted to cover your tracks, draw suspicion away from yourself."

"Think what you want about me," Hoskins says. "But believe it or not, I did feel some sense of responsibility to this. That's why I want to bring this thing down. I clean up my own meses."

"That's awfully noble of you," Own says sardonically. "You willing to spend the rest of your life in prison as well?"

"Well now," Hoskins says. "Let's not get carried away,-" and as he speaks, he reaches for his glock. But his action is disrupted by a bullet that strikes the tree trunk right next to his face. All of the ACU are aiming their rifles at Hoskins.

"Stand down!" the closest one shouts to Hoskins. "Or we will shoot!"

Hoskins pulls his hand away from his glock, and puts both of his hands behind his head. Two soldiers step forward to take Hoskins away. As they do, Owen feels a vibrating coming from his back pocket. Pulling out his phone, he sees that Claire is calling him. "Claire?"

"Owen," she says in a quiet, shaking voice. "She's here. She's just outside the Innovation Center."

"Oh no," Owen says, feeling a sense of whiplash as he goes from being furious to disgusted to horrified. "Is the van there yet?"

"She took it out," Claire says. "She's just wandering up and down Main Street now, roaring every few minutes or so."

"Damnit, Owen says. "Okay look, I've got ACU right here with me. I'm sending them over to you now."

"Oh thank god!" Claire says, closing her eyes as a sense of relief washes over her.

"Just hang tight, they should be there soon," Owen says hanging up. Turning to the nearest squad leader, Owen says to him, "I just got word from Park Control, the _Indominus_ is on Main Street. She seems to be staying in that area, so if you move quickly, you should catch her."

"Roger that," the squad leader says before turning to the others and giving a series of orders. Within moments ACU is heading South toward the Innovation Center, leaving Owen by himself. Only then does he finally remember what he'd gone out there to do.

As Owen heads off to try and find the raptors, ACU pushes Southwards toward Main Street, crashing through the tropical ferns and bushes standing in their way. The caravan is the complete opposite of stealth. Branches snap, rocks crumble, and leaves crackle as the jeeps plow over anything standing their path. Any and all small dinosaurs nearby scatter for cover to avoid being flattened. Birds and pterosaurs alike take off from the ground to seek shelter in the higher branches above.

ACU pulls out onto the pavement behind the Innovation Center, following the road around the tall, pyramidal building toward the North End of Main Street. Still standing tentatively by the doorway, Claire, Barry, Grey, and Zach hear the jeeps long before they seem them, but once they become visible, hope fills them up. Their bodies tense as they prepare for whatever's about to happen next.

The _Indominus_ lurks at the opposite end of Main Street, just outside the fence separating the visitors from the _Mosasaurus_ lagoon. Sensing the approach of the jeeps, she stands at full attention, growling softly to herself. Having bested every foe she's faced since escaping, she fears nothing from the procession of vehicles and soldiers making their way down the street in her direction. Savoring the opportunity for more slaughter, she lets out a trumpeting roar before charging in their direction.

This time, when the bullets begin flying they do not simply bounce off her armored hide and fall to the ground. This time, the hard osteoderms embedded in her skin crack on contact with the bullets, causing her to slow her charge and cry out in agony. She turns so that her most well-defended spots face her attackers, but even they are no match for the armor-piercing rounds. With blood pouring from her cracked plates, she changes course, heading down one of the roads running perpendicular to Main Street. As she does, her skin smoothly transitions to a deep blue, doing her best to match the surrounding night.

ACU moves down the street, turning left to chase her down. She moves so swiftly that they only manage to catch the end of her tail snaking through the air as she turns another corner. She winds her way further through the small maze of shops and restaurants that make up the park's center, but ACU isn't deterred. They follow her path up until the moment when she disappears completely from view. With her no longer in sight, ACU slows considerably, checking each alley way and through street for any sign of her. The soldiers and vehicles at the back of the squadron keep their eyes peeled behind them on the chance she mounts an attack from the rear.

It does them no good

After passing a street leading to a series of shops by Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, the Indominus leaps from hiding, perfectly concealed in the crumbling ruins of what was once a Brookstone Gifts. The back line of soldiers falls quickly as she turns her attention to the rest. From the backs of the center jeeps, a group of soldiers begins loading their rocket launchers. Unleashing her full might on the, she sprays the center of the caravan with rain of the noxious, corrosive chemicals from her mouth. The smell waters their eyes, and any exposed flesh burns hideously. What they don't notice is how the chemicals cause the firing mechanism on the rocket launcher to warp and distort to the point of inefficacy. As the soldiers uselessly try to launch the projectiles at her, she swings her tail around three times gathering enough momentum to strike the entire ACU caravan, tossing jeeps as if they were toys.

One by one, she goes over to the fallen jeeps and rips each one open as easily as if she were popping the top of a soda can, lazily tossing the sheets of torn metal to one side. Any soldiers that are still alive are treated to far more than a simple death. She savors each chance to hideously dismember each one of them, starting with their limbs before slicing their guts open with a single claw. Bloody nubs of bone stick out from the points where the limbs are torn off, and gallons worth of gore spill out onto the pavement.

She does nothing especially different when she reaches Hoskins, knowing nothing of the role he played in her creation. Upon seeing her red eyes fall upon his bound body, he curls up instinctively into a ball, screaming madly at the top of his lungs. She grabs him by his ankles with two fingers, hoisting him up with no effort at all. As the whole goes topsy turvey, Hoskins is entirely unsure of what precisely is going, but the issue because irrelevant when a sudden burning sensation fills his entire face. The chemicals from her spray dissolve his eyes in their sockets, and reduce his tongue and teeth to a pink pile of goop that drips into the ground. This his terrible pain is that last thing Vic Hoskins knows before she laterally bifurcates him, starting from his grown and going all the way down to his skull.

With the last of ACU lying in bloodied pieces along the street, The Indominus rex steps up with one foot onto one of the fallen jeeps and roars her victory into the night

There are no survivors.


	44. Chapter 42 - Family

Owen follows what few footprints he can find further Westwards, heading back toward the Gyrosphere Valley. He guess that the pack is returning to the nesting ground with the new recruits. He passes several dinosaurs along the way, pretty much all of which pay him no heed. The farther along the path he travels, the more distant raptor calls he makes out. Thought not at all sure, Owen wants to think that he can distinguish Blue, Echo, Charlie, and Delta from the others, but he also knows it could be entirely psychological.

As the caws, snarls, and hoots grow louder, Owen slows down the ATV, finally deciding to abandon it all together. He fears that the sound of an approaching vehicle will just alarm the pack and put them on the defensive. Gripping his rifle firmly in hand, he continues on foot, trying to make as little noise as he can. With any luck, he hopes to encounter one of his own raptors before any of the others.

A rustling of the bushes to his left causes Owen to spin around, taking aim with the rifle. When nothing presents itself, he relaxes slightly, though he keeps his guard up.

A second rustle sounds from behind him, causing him to turn in place. Recognizing the pattern immediately, Owen bolts off through the trees, away from the bushes. His suspicions are all but confirmed when he catches sight of a bright pair of yellow eyes staring out at him from the shadows.

Owen knows full well that they're attempting to draw his attention in an attempt to lay an ambush. In the confines of the forest, he knows that the best strategy is to keep moving, thus preventing them from laying a trap. This will in turn cause frustration in the pack, which might trick certain pack members into revealing themselves.

The sound of pounding footsteps running parallel to him causes Owen to bank sharply to the right. His timing is near-perfect – a lizard like snout lunges toward him, snapping shut with a guttural grunt. Missing its mark, the raptor tumbles forward, rolling into a ditch before colliding head-first with a fallen tree-trunk.

Just as Owen thinks he's escaped one raptor, another pounces from a grove of ferns and hits Owen head first in the chest. The two roll over one another several times before the raptor finds itself on top of Owen, the two locking eyes just before Owen thrusts his forearm upwards into the raptor's chin, pushing its snout away from his face even as it tries to bite into his face. Using his free hand, Owen pulls out a knife from a sheath on his calf and dives it straight into the raptor's shoulder blade. He feels it slice right through the creature's leathery skin and cut deep into the muscle. The sudden pain forces the raptor to scream deafeningly before falling off of Owen and scurrying back into the shelter of the forest.

Keeping the blood-stained knife in hand, Owen continues on his way through the jungle. Though he still hears various raptor calls coming from all around him, he notices that they are becoming more distant. Though he is relieved to think that they may be breaking off from hunting him, he knows that he has to keep pace if he's to find the four feathered raptors.

After several minutes, the calls are barely audible, and all of the rustling of the foliage has stopped entirely. This coincides with his increasingly hard panting, accompanied by a painful burning in his lungs. Finally, he can't bring himself to keep going without rest, and he stops in his tracks, breathing heavily.

He wipes sweat from his brow, angrily tossing drops to the forest floor as he smears his forehead with blood and dirt. He wants to curse, but he doesn't have the breath for it. As a sense of defeat starts overcoming his motivation, he collapses his rear onto a nearby tree stump. He hangs his head, crestfallen. He knows that the longer he stays put, the farther away the pack will get, and he simply won't have the energy to go after them.

After five minutes of believing that he's failed, he is startled by a loud growl and the sudden appearance of one of the raptors through the bushes. Adrenaline propels him back onto his feet, knife at the ready. But to his astonishment, the raptor before him is Blue, who simply stands in place, examining him with her piercing yellow eyes. The paired blue stripes running dorsally down her back are barely visible in the night. The camera strapped to her head by ACU is still in place.

Owen freezes, hardly believing his own luck. But he doesn't lower his weapons, as Blue's body posture is still clearly indicative of agitation. Her wings are folded close to her body, her tail held high and stiff, and her neck coiled back like a snake ready to strike. The whole jungle seems to go silent as the two stare each other down, each one waiting for the other to make a move.

At last, Owen breaks the tension. Moving as cautiously and slowly as he can, he lowers his knife. The movement causes Blue to hiss softly like a swan, her feathers ruffling over her back. Owen slows his movements even more, acknowledging her aggression, though he doesn't stop until the knife is back in its sheath.

Next, he reaches his arm out toward Blue, his fingers together, pointing upward, his palm fully exposed. As the hand grows closer to Blue's snout, she growls softly, and snaps her jaws shut. Though Owen flinches slightly at the motion, he nonetheless keeps his composure. "Easy…" he says in a low voice as he extends his hand toward her once more. He stops just a few inches from the end of her snout, allowing her to decide if contact his made.

Blue turns her head to the left, and then to the right, getting a better look at Owen with each one of her yellow eyes. After two minutes' worth of examination. Blue places her snout into Owen's hand, allowing him to run his hand through the feathers on her face and down her neck. "That's my girl," he says affectionately. He finds the strap that keeps the camera fastened to her head and undoes it easily. Blue watches as it falls to the ground, shaking her head slightly to make sure nothing is left attached to her. She looks back at Owen, and though her expression is eternally fixed in a harsh-looking scowl, he can tell that she is glad to see him.

Pack leader understanding his words. "We'll give it a try at least-"

But before Owen can finish, a vicious snarl breaks the moment of comfort between them. One of the wild, scaly raptors from the old park emerges from the bushes nearby, showing off all of her razor-like, backwards-pointing teeth. She is noticeably larger than blue, and her dull color and numerous scars betray her age and experience. She looks at Own with both eyes – one yellow, one blue. Pacing around both Blue and Owen in anticipation, the pack leader sizes Owen up for an attack.

But to his astonishment, Blue turns on the wild one and snarls ferociously at her, unfolding her wings in a show of intimidation. Taken aback for a moment, the pack leader takes two steps back before answering Blue's snarl with one of her own. Both of them begin to claw at the forest floor, kicking up piles of dirt and dead leaves, and to swing their tails back and forth in agitation. Owen steps back from the display, unsure of what part he should play.

Blue makes the first move. She pounces from her spot, legs shooting foing all of her strengrward with claws fully bared. Acting quickly, the pack leader jumps upwards and catches Blue's assault with her own claws. Locked together, the two collapse to the ground and tumble over each other several times before they come to a stop, the wild raptor standing over Blue.

Owen bites his lip as cold sweat drips down his neck. He is helpless to intervene as the pack leader leans down and snaps her jaws shut on Blue's neck. Tearing her neck back upwards, the pack leader pulls back with a mouth-full of bloody feathers. As she goes to take another bite, Blue lunges forward and snaps her teeth on the naked muzzle of her attacker, using all of her strength to hurl the pack leader onto the ground beside her. Both raptors struggle to get back on their feet, each one hoping to launch their next attack first. Their timing is almost perfectly synchronized as they leap toward each other, sickles slashing at scaly skin on one side, feathers and flesh on the other. They likewise rip into each others' necks, tearing at anything in hopes of landing a killing blow.

Owen is so rapt by the horrifying spectacle that he doesn't even notice the first 3 times his phone rings. Still keeping his eyes on the battle, he reaches into his pocket to pull out the phone, just as Blue lands a nasty lash on her opponent's side. Owen's eyes dart to the screen to see that Claire has called him four times already. Absolutely reluctant to divide his attention, Owen dials her number, and then goes back to watching the fight.

"Owen! Finally!" Claire's voice calls from the other line. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm okay," he says, somewhat distracted. "What's going on?"

"Owen…ACU is down."

"What?" he says, finally starting to get more involved in the conversation. "All of them?"

"I think so," Claire says. "She just took out a bunch of jeeps and some kinda tank…thing."

"All of it?" Owen says, hardly believing what he's being told. "What about Hoskins' new guns, weren't they supposed to take it out?"

"Well, it looked like they were working at first," Claire says. "She ran away from them, but…well, I guess she, she set up a…an ambush," Claire feels silly saying it out loud, but Owen takes her deathly seriously.

"Where are you now?" Owen asks. "You're still at the Innovation Center?"

"There's nowhere else to go!" Claire says. "She's just been prowling up and down Main St. for the past half hour or so. We're trapped here."

Owen takes a hard look at the raptors still fighting before him. Though both are now covered in scratches, bite-marks, and slashes, he can't help but feel that Blue has just a few wounds more than the pack leader. Knowing full well the decision before him, he says, "Alright… I'll be there as soon as I can." He hangs up just as Blue leaps on to the back of the pack leader, digging her claws into the scaly flesh. It's clear to Owen that neither of them is about to let this fight end any time soon.

Taking one final look at the raging raptors, Owen whispers, "Goodbye Blue," before he turns around and heads back to where the ATV was parked.


	45. Chapter 43 - Last Hope

The journey back to the Innovation Center is completely uneventful, giving Owen plenty of opportunity to imagine the various ways in which the confrontation between the two creatures might end. The concerned parent in him dreads all the horrible things that could happen, up to and including death. Owen has seen raptors fight before, but what he saw is far beyond any of the scuffles in the raptor pen. He does his best to focus on getting to Claire, Barry, and the kids, not only because they need his attention more than Blue, but also because he knows that worrying about it only makes him suffer twice as much for it.

He parks the ATV in the employee lot and dashes into the building. He runs through the halls into the public exhibitions, where he sees Claire, Barry, Zach, and Grey standing by the door way. Both Clair and Barry liven up immensely at the sight of him, rushing up to greet him. Barry reaches him first and offers his right hand, which Owen gladly accepts. The two men pull each other into a one-armed hug. Barry says. "Thank god."

"What happened?" Claire asks.

Trying not to think about the fight, Owen looks down for a second before answering. "They're….they're too far gone."

Barry sighs. "We knew it could happen."

"Just wait till I get my hands on Hoskins," Owen says, his fists already balling once more.

"The _Indominus_ beat you to it," Claire says sardonically. "If you still want to land a punch or two, half of him is by that churro stand, and the other half is sticking through the window to Winston's"

"Too good for him," Owen says, spitting onto the floor. Surprised by Owen's cold reaction to a man being ripped in half, they look at him with confusion. "Hoskins is behind all of this, all of it. He and Wu designed the _Indominus_ behind everyone's back to be so deadly."

"What the fuck?" Claire asks in equal parts fury and shock.

"Yeah," Owen says, "Wu was unhappy with having to give up work on genetic hybridization to go back to cloning dinosaurs. Meanwhile, Hoskins had some fucking half-assed delusions of grandeur about using Ingen's technology to change the world. The two had been in contact for years, even before Wu came to you with the suggestion of creating a hybrid dinosaur. She was meant to be a showcase to the rest of Ingen and Masrani about what this technology was capable of."

"Wha-…I-I-…to what end?" Claire stammers out, struggling to take in the revelation.

"Like I said, to change the world," Owen says. "He thought that we were sitting on the technology, doing nothing innovative with it. He thought that, by creating a hybrid dinosaur with unimaginable destructive power and camouflaging abilities, he could convince Masrani to take the research into new areas of development. Agriculture, recitation-"

"Military," Barry finishes with a dark look.

"Exactly," Owen says.

"We can worry about that later," Claire says. "Right now, I have to get these kids back home safe and sound to their mother, elsewise I'm excommunicated from the family."

"Right," Owen says. "What's she doing?"

"She's just been lurking around here for the last hour or so," Claire says, pointing to the door way. "She keeps roaring, and the _T. rex_ keeps answering."

Owen stares out at the street in front, where he can see the _Indominus_ licking one of her bullet wounds. "What we need is a diversion. We need her attention to be drawn to something else while we make a break for it."

"Not a chance," Claire says with a snicker. "If we so much as sneeze, she's all over the doorway."

"It's obvious isn't it?" Grey asks. All three of the adults turn their heads toward him, not entirely realizing what exactly is obvious. "She wants the _T. rex_. So give it o her."

"You mean, release the _T. rex_?" Claire asks disbelievingly. "No way," her answer come instinctively without any thought.

"No, no, no hang on there," Owen says. "That…that might actually work."

"Really, Owen?" Claire asks in a tone of pure exhaustion. "Is that the best idea?"

"Why not?" Owen asks rhetorically. Before Claire can give him her list of answers, he continues. "The two see each other, they do whatever it is they want to do – fight, mate, whatever-"

"Wait, isn't the _T. rex_ female...?" Zach asks with a hint of a smirk.

"Some dinosaurs had gay sex, it's a fact," Owen says quickly before moving on. "Whatever it is they want to do to each other, while they're doing it, we use that opportunity to get away."

"What if they don't want to fight or fuck or whatever?" Claire asks. "What if they just want to team up to kill us?"

Owen snickers. "Come on, that's ridiculous."

"Really Owen? Really?" Claire asks. "After everything I've seen today, I could believe it."

Barry tries a different argument. "The _Indominus_ has always reacted to new stimuli with violence ever since she was born. She would almost certainly attack it."

"I don't know…" Claire says.

"Claire, you really don't have a lot of time," Owen says. "That last boat isn't going to hang around forever, we need to get there before they assume we're dead."

Claire takes another look out the doorway, where the _Indominus_ stands in position, starting back at her silently. Abandoning every instinct she's worked to develop over the last 10 years, Claire throws up her hands and says. "Fuck it. Release the rex."

"Okay, here's the plan," Owen says, drawing them all in close. "Barry will head out on the ATV. Barry will drive, and I'll shoot at it with my rifle. That should distract her long enough for you to make it to _T. Rex_ Kingdom and punch in the emergency release code."

"You want me to open up the _T. rex_ paddock, alone, with no weapons," Claire says flatly.

Owen waves her off. "You won't need any, the rex will pick up the scent and head straight for the _Indominus_."

"Oh of course, how simple," Claire says rolling her eyes.

"All you have to do is stand back away from the doors, away from her path toward Main St," Owen says trying to reassure her,

Taking a look at Grey and Zach, she eventually brings herself to nod. "Alright fine. I'll do it."

"Okay, what then?" Zach asks. "How are we supposed to get out of here? We can't all fit on the one ATV.'

"We may have to try," Owen says. "Not really a whole lot of options."

"Okay," Claire says, preparing to sum up the plan. "So, Owen and Barry will distract the I. rex, while I go to release the _T. rex_. While those two are distracted, we all make our escape, is everyone clear on that?" Everyone nods "In that case….well, I see no point in delaying. Let's get to it."

"Right," Owen says, slapping Barry on the shoulder. "Let's go." Together, the two men head back along the hall toward the employee parking lot as Claire moves closer to the threshold leading outside. The _Indominus_ watches from the other side of Main Street. Within just a few minutes, both Claire and the _Indominus_ hear the sound of the ATV's engine rounding the building to the left, just before it speeds out down the street.

At first, the _Indominus_ just observes it, like a cat first acquainted with a mouse. But the drive to kill sends her storming after the small, swiftly-moving vehicle, the sight of two humans on its back pushing her into action. Barry maintains a respectable distance as he drives toward her, only to pull back and turn around upon reaching 100 feet. These taunting motions cause her to snap, slash, and whip her tail at the two men, but she never lands anything approaching a close hit. Each time she misses, her irritation grows, first from frustration, then to anger. In no time at all, Owen and Barry have her full attention, and as she lets out a furious roar, she pursues them down one of the adjacent alleyways.

When Claire sees the tip of her tail disappear behind a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream parlor, she dashes out of the door way, down Main St. in the direction of _T. Rex_ Kingdom. She does her best to ignore the streams of blood flowing from stagnant puddles from elsewhere in the park into the drains along the edge of the street. She once has to leap over the half-eaten remains of an overweight male tourist. At last, she reaches the skeletal mount of a _Spinosaurus_ that marks the entrance to _T. Rex_ Kingdom.

She runs past the viewing glass, take a brief look inside but seeing nothing but dark wooded terrain. At the end of the artificial fallen tree is a door labeled 'employees only.' Ordinarily, Claire would simply use her badge to unlock the door, but the electronic locking system has long since been off line. Instead, she pulls out a park skeleton key that she's only ever used twice before to unlock the door into the back stage area of the _rex's_ enclosure. The inside is filled with smaller isolated pens still filled with piles of goat feces, as well as a passageway toward the very opposite end of the enclosure that leads to a pair of enormous steal doors.

Next to the doors is a small box labeled 'emergency use only.' Opening it up, Claire finds a small first aid kit, two flares, a large water bottle, and other amenities of basic survival. Next to the box is a number key pad. Taking a moment to remember the override code, Claire punches it in carefully

061193

She takes a deep breath as she types in the last number. Red lights begin flashing over the doors, accompanied by a loud buzzer. Steam hisses as valves being to pull the steel doors upwards, the mechanics creaking from disuse. The titanic doors give way to the darkness of the paddock's opening, with no sign of the Tyrannosaur in sight. At first, Claire is relieved, having prayed that the rex was not simply waiting just on the other side for her to open the door. But as more time passes, she begins to grow anxious. The enclosure is certainly large, but surely the lights and buzzer would have alerted her to the fact that she's now free?

Growing more upset by the lack of dinosaur, Claire reaches back into the emergency box and pulls out one of the flares. Pulling off the top, the tip ignites into a brilliant hot pink light that fumes noxiously next to her. Now holding the flare in her right hand, Claire stands directly in front of the doorway, waiting.

 _Boom_.

First she hears it.

 _Boom_.

Then she feels it.

 _Boom_.

Two glowing white eyes appear from out of the darkness, at least twenty feet overhead. As they move closer and closer toward Claire, the light of the flare bounces off the dull, brown, scaly hide of the approaching colossus.

The sight is almost enough to paralyze Claire with fear. But as the _Tyrannosaurus_ gets nearer to her, she sees that its eyes are focused on the flare. At first, she feels the urge to fling it back into the enclosure and shut the doors, but the moment passes as she remembers what she is to do.

She steps backwards, keeping her eyes on the dinosaur. As it leans over to get a closer look at her, she finally brings herself to turn around fully and run faster than she's ever run before down the corridor leading toward Main Street.

Following both the smell and sight of the flare, the _Tyrannosaurus rex_ moves out of the shadow of her paddock, allowing the moon and stars to illuminate her properly. Her five foot skull is covered in a series of keratinous bosses that give her head an otherwise boxy profile, as well as giving her an eternally glaring brow. Long, blunt, serrated teeth hang from her upper jaws, which flare out with muscle power toward the back. A series of scars stains her muzzle, the remnants of 22 year old incident. A thick neck with layers of wrinkled sin lead down to a lean, powerful body. Small arms dangle near-uselessly in front of her, the real power being in her heavily muscled legs and tail.

As she pursues Claire and the flare out from her pen, she opens up her maw to give an excited, victorious roar.


	46. Chapter 44 - Battle

Back on Main Street, Owen and Barry continue to keep the attention of the _Indominus_ on themselves until Claire returns with the cavalry. The task proves more difficult than either one of them had anticipated. Cat and mouse is a far more nuanced game than most people appreciate. They can't drive too fast or dodge her blows too effectively, otherwise the task will seem impossible, and she'll just give up in frustration. The ideal is to move just slow enough to convince her that she's close to the catch. Meanwhile, the _Indominus_ shows off her cognitive skills by learning and adapting to their tricks. Their capacity to stay ahead of her often involves being able to predict her next moves. Realizing this, the _Indominus_ learns to make mock moves and bluffs that throw them off, and give her the upper hand. If not for Barry's reflexes, they'd never survive. If she ever does show signs of boring of the chase, Owen shoots her once more, enraging her even further.

Zach and Grey watch from the doors, unable to help.

As Barry and Owen round a corner near a Margaritaville, the ATV catches the crest of one of the _Thalassodromeus_ left over from earlier in the afternoon. The impact causes Owen to fall off the back of the ATV onto the road. By the time Barry realizes what's happened and turns around, the _Indominus_ is upon Owen. Scraped and bruised from the spill, he ignores the bodily pain completely as the drooling, gaping jaws of the _Indominus_ looming over him. Hot saliva drips onto his face as he feels the reeking breath wafting up his nose. As the jaws creep closer and closer, he can see the blood staining the otherwise yellow teeth, and the tiny flecks of meat hanging off the gums.

Just as Owen is prepared for the jaws to envelop him completely, something strikes the _Indominus_ just below her eye. Caught off guard, the blow causes her to shiver slightly before turning in the direction of the objects origin.

Owen manages to sit up in time to see Grey standing on the steps leading to the Innovation Center, picking up broken pieces of concrete from a nearby collapsed gift shop. "Hey!" he shouts out at her. "Over here!"

The _Indominus_ stares at him, calculating if she'd be able to reach him in time before he could retreat to the safety of the Innovation Center. She senses that she'd never make it. But instead of forgetting him entirely, she keeps her eye on him as she moves toward Owen again.

"NO!" Grey says, hurling another rock toward her. Seeing it coming, it does nothing to faze her. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Grey shouts, throwing more pieces of building at her. The _Indominus'_ plan works out. In desperation, Grey runs forward, waving his arms and jumping up and down in an attempt to get the _Indominus'_ attention, little realizing that he already has it.

Once he's close enough, the _Indominus_ springs from her place toward him. Suddenly realizing the foolishness of his actions, Grey runs back to try and seek shelter in the Innovation Center, only for the his path to be blocked by the _Indominus'_ left food. He slams face first into her scale-covered ankle, just in front of the raised claw on her second toe.

As the _Indominus_ reaches down to snatch the child in her clawed hands, she stops in mid motion. An unusual, strong smelling odor fills her nostrils, coming from somewhere up ahead of her. She looks up to see where the smell might be coming from. A brilliant pink light appears from the archway to T. Rex Kingdom down the street, carried by Claire running at full speed. Upon seeing the _Indominus_ , she tosses the flare directly at the monster dinosaur, which feebly bounces off her armored skin.

The _Indominus_ ' attention quickly turns from the flare to the gigantic form that comes barreling through the archway, bursting effortlessly through the _Spinosaurus_ skeleton, scattering the shattered fiber glass bones all over the street. Following the path of the flare, her eyes fall on _Indominus_ , causing the _Tyrannosaurus_ to stop in her tracks, examining the strange new creature.

Forgetting all else, the _Indominus_ stands tall once more. Owen seizes the opportunity to rush over to Grey and hoist him up by the armpits before the _Indominus_ flattens him with a careless, misplaced step. Claire hides behind a series of benches, Barry parking the ATV right beside her.

For a moment, the two super predators simply stare at each other, neither knowing what to make of the other. They sniff air tentatively, as if to confirm that they have both found the source of the odor that has vexed both for years. At last, the Tyrannosaur issues her challenge. Opening her jaws to their widest, she issues a deafening roar that tears the moment of peace asunder, scratching the pavement under her feet with the claws on the tips of her toes. Not to be outdone, the _Indominus_ answers the roar with one of her own, swinging her clubbed, spiked tail back and forth like a snake preparing to strike. When it becomes clear to both of them that neither will be frightened away by loud noises, they charge at each other.

The experienced Tyrannosaur lands the first bite. Her banana shaped teeth dig into the gnarly-textured snout of the _Indominus_ , digging so deep as to puncture bone. The old girl throws her tremendous weight to one side, throwing the _Indominus_ off her feet and sending her armor-plated side smashing into a Starbuck's. A careless sweep of the _Indominus_ ' tail rips a street lamp in half, a fountain of orange sparks erupting from the point of impact. In an attempt to get the rex off of her, the _Indominus_ swipes at her face with the huge, curving claws on her left right, leaving fresh gashes of blood over the healed scars. The pain causes the rex to relax slightly. The _Indominus_ takes advantage of her momentary weakness, thrusting her greater weight at the Tyrannosaur, pushing her off.

The _Indominus_ attempts to squirt her corrosive cocktail at the Tyrannosaur, only to find that she has exhausted her supply of the fluid. The pause allows the _T. rex_ to step forward and slam her head against the _Indominus_ like a tooth-filled battering ram. The force sends the _Indominus_ twirling to the side, the rex biting down on her back, just below her neck. However, the armor proves too strong for her, and after three of her teeth break off, the rest of her mouth slides off.

Feeling the rex over her, the _Indominus_ bends her knees as she gathers all of the strength in her legs and pushes upward, throwing the _T. rex_ of off her completely. Changing tactics, the _Indominus_ begins swiping frantically with her claws at the _T. rex_ , creating deep slash marks all along her face and neck. The swipes are so powerful that they push the T. rex backwards, up the street toward the Innovation Center.

The spectacle is so awe-inspiring, that at first, no one knows what to do. But as they see the _Indominus_ gain the upper hand, Owen realizes that they need to move soon, or else their only chance will soon be gone. He pushes Zach and Grey forward, urging them to rush past the battling giants and make it to Claire and Barry by the ATV. But as they move down the steps, the _Indominus_ grabs the _T. rex_ and throws her down on the ground on her side. Before the _T. rex_ can make any attempt to get back up, the _Indominus_ leans down and rips into the back of her neck with her misshapen, mis-matched set of teeth. The body of the fallen Tyrannosaur blocks their path to escape, nevermind the _Indominus_ towering over her, cut up but still standing.

As the _T. rex_ stirs weakly, the _Indominus_ places her right foot on the creature's body, and her hand over the crown of its skull. Everyone watching, including the rex herself, believes that the killing blow is about to be delivered.

Until a single noise breaks the tension.

Owen, Barry, Claire, Zach, and Grey all turn their heads to the North side of Main St. Blue – with several fresh cuts and bald patches – comes bolting around a street corner at top speed. But she is not alone – Charlie, Delta, and Echo follow in her wake, each one just behind Blue, leading the charge. And as they appear full from around the corner, more raptors follow close behind. Eight of the wild, lizard-like raptors from the ruins of Jurassic Park charge side by side with their feathered kin. The only one missing is the pack leader.

Ignoring the humans completely, the 12 raptors spread out around the _Indominus_ , cawing and barking at her. With loud calls coming from all around her, the _Indominus_ has no idea which one to attack first. Before she can decide, four of them leap up onto her side and begin kicking at her with their sickle-claws, making deep slashes into her skin. The sudden assault and pain causes her to step off the _T. rex_ and stumble down Main. St. Owen, Grey, and Zach duck into a nearby bar to avoid being stepped on, even as the tips of the _Indominus'_ tail spikes shatter the glass windows. The three humans duck to avoid having their faces shredded by the flying shards.

The raptors take turns jumping up onto the hybrid, giving her a few good slashes being falling back to the ground to avoid her wrath. The Indominus in turn does her best to try and grab one with her jaws or claws, but the quick hunters are good at evading her attacks before drawing her attention away from the next round. The raptors are not flawless. The Indominus does manage to unintentionally bludgeon one to death with a carless sweep of her tail. Another falls when it stays onto the side of the _Indominus_ for just half a second too long, and ends up in the jaws of the predators, impaled on its dozens of teeth. The last of the casualties is Echo, who is grabbed by the _Indominus_ while trying to draw its attention away from the others. Clamping down on her spine, the _Indominus_ delivers death quickly before hurling the limp body of the deceased stem-bird clear across the street.

But before anymore of the raptors can fall victim to the _Indominus_ , the rex returns with a furious vengeance. Grabbing the _Indominus_ by her neck, the Tyrannosaur pushes her into the side of a shop, electric sparks and various shrapnel flying everywhere. Not letting go, the _T. rex_ digs her teeth deeper into the _I. rex'_ s skin, breaking off the neural spines sticking out of the top. Turning around, the _T. rex_ swings her weight forward, slamming the _Indominus_ down to the ground. Only now realizing what's been happening, the _Indominus_ prepares to launch a counter attack – only for Blue and Delta to pounce forward onto her face, slashing near her eyes. The _Indominus_ cannot account for nearly a dozen raptors and the _T. rex_ all at ounce. Working together, the spontaneous, unexpected 'team' drives the _Indominus_ down Main St, sending her crashing through the perimeter fence surrounding the Jurassic World Lagoon.

Getting to her feet, the indomitable predator stands at full height, her tail extending over the water. Pieces of broken metal and wood stick out of her body from all sides, blood pouring from the wounds down her rusty hide. She stares at the rex and the raptors, filling with more hate and fury than anything she'd ever felt in her life. Preparing to come at them all with everything she's got left – only to feel something pull her back.

With their attention on the battle, no one noticed when Maisy the _Mosasaurus_ stuck her elongate snout over the water and snapped her jaws around the _Indominus_ ' tail. With 40 tons of marine lizard holding her back, the 15 ton theropod has finally met her match. With her prey in tow, the _Mosasaurus_ propels itself up out of the water partway before diving back down with a sweep of her fish-like flukes. As she begins to understand what's going to happen to her, the _Indominus_ ' feels a new sensation for the first, last, only time in her life – terror. Collapsing to her belly, she frantically claws at the pavement with the claws on her hands and feet, to no avail. In a frothy splash of aqua blue waters, the monstrous killer is dragged down into the darkest depths of the pool, to be held down by her assailant until she drowns.

Back by the side of the pool, the rex turns to look at the pack standing before her, who return her gaze with one of apprehension. With a satisfied snort, she turns in place and begins to walk away from the scene of the battle toward the surrounding jungle. The weight of the fight shows clearly in the stiffness of her movements and in the slight limp in her right foot. With no more desire for violence, she ambles off to see to her wounds in peace.

The raptors purr contently to themselves. Meanwhile, Owen and Barry stand up and begin to slowly approach their three surviving adoptive daughters, surveying them with restrained awe and pride. When one of the wild raptors hisses at them, Blue promptly snaps at him, sending him into submission. She and the other two approach the men quietly, simply looking at them with their fixed faces. Both Barry and Owen extend their hands, allowing the raptors the chance to nuzzle them as they please. Blue places the end of her snout in Owen's hand, Delta in Barry's. With a warm smile, Owen whispers, "that's my girl." Blue closes her eyes to show her satisfaction.

Barry looks at Owen, and Owen at Barry. Something passes between them, and they nod at one another. They both turn back to the raptors and hold up their hands. Blue, Charlie, and Delta all stand at attention waiting for the signal. Both men swing their hands down. The meaning is clear. Blue caws out to the rest of the pack, and she leads them North, away from the park.

When the raptors are out of sight, Clare and the boys go up to Owen and Barry. "What did you tell them?" Claire asks.

'We told them to go," Owen says.

With the threat of the _Indominus_ gone, the journey to the docks is easy and free of any real danger. Any remaining predators are dissuaded from attacking by a warning shot from Owen's rifle. Unlike the _Indominus_ , they don't possess any inherent passion for death and suffering. They have no interest in killing without need. They are the only ones left alive on the island at that point, save the crew of the volunteer fishing vessel waiting for them. The captain informs them that if they had not made it when they had he would have only hung around for 10 minutes more before casting off.

The city of Juan Santamaria on Costa Rica's Pacific isn't built to handle a sudden influx of over 20,000 people all at once. Every hotel, motel, inn, and hostel is filled up in a matter of hours after the first evacuation boats make it to the mainland. Most of those unable to make accommodations are forced to stay near the harbor. It is here that Claire makes contact with Lowery, Vivian, Zara, and other members from Park Control to ensure their safe arrival off the island.

At last, Claire sits Zach and Grey down, and together they have a long phone call with Karen and Scott. Grey goes into scintillating detail regarding their exploits after the _Indominus_ ' escape – about their journey into the restricted zone and their discovery of the old park's visitor center, their multiple encounters with vicious predators, and of how their Aunt Claire ventured into the forbidding wilderness to search for them, and wouldn't leave the island without them. Claire can tell how much that latter detail means to Karen, and her heart finally begins to relax as she realizes her place in the family is secured, and perhaps even bolstered by her daring deed.

With her family matters taken care of, Claire finds Owen, sitting alone on a bench by the docks. She seats herself next to him. He looks over at her briefly before turning back to the ocean. "Hey," he says simply.

"Hey," she says in reply. "How you feelng?'

He shrugs. "Alright. Considering."

"What do you think's gonna happen next?" she asks.

"You're asking the wrong guy," Owen says. "My role in all this is ended. Time to get back to the world."

"Fair point," she says. "I might need your help with one thing though."

"What's that?"

She doesn't look at him as she speaks. "A lot of the blame for this whole incident is going to fall on my shoulders. Masrani was willing to take the fall, but he can't do that if he's dead."

"Look I told you," Owen says. "It was Hoskins. He and Wu-"

"Never made it off the island," Claire says. "We know Hoskins is dead, and Wu was never accounted for. Point is, neither of them is around to make a confession."

"I see," he nods his head. "You want to keep me around as a witness."

"Pretty much," she says, almost guiltily.

"You know, there's always the chance they won't believe me," Owen says.

Claire nods. "True. But if you're right, then there must be some record of their correspondence over the years. I can check the Masrani Employee Electronic Archive for something, but odds are they were smart enough to use dummy email accounts."

"Probably," Owen says. 'But there's gotta be some way to track them down?"

"I'm sure there is," Claire says, nodding. "I just don't know what it is. So for the time, being I'm really going to need your testimony…not to say that I don't enjoy your company as well," she adds at the end.

He smiles. "I like to think the both of us came out better after all this. Not to say that makes it alright or anything just… well, I learned a lot about you today," he says, looking at her. "Gotta say, I liked what I learned."

"I'm glad you think so," she says. "And I'm woman enough to admit that you were right from the beginning."

He waves her off. "No point moping about the past. What's done is done. Now, we move on."

"Now we move on," she repeats with a nod.

As the sun begins to rise behind them, a single brown pelican flies over them, heading out to feed over the vast Pacific.


	47. Chapter 45 - A Jurassic World

A cloudy sky looms over the San Diego skyline downtown. Even still, the dark clouds are the only source of light into the high office, 9 stories above ground. It's enough light for Lilah Martin to read the latest reports from the Mascom Satellite project. As she reads, she takes her final sip of coffee from her cup, the liquid already growing cool.

The door to her office opens unexpectedly. With no appointments that day, Lilah is confused to see Graham enter the room, standing stiff and tall in front of her. "Um… yes?" she asks him.

"Well, I….well there's no real easy way to say this, but…I'm quitting," he says.

Lilah's eyebrows raise slightly, even as they converge to give her a confused look. "Why, what's wrong?"

He opens his mouth to say something, but the words get caught in his throat on their way out. He gives out a few stale chuckles to clear the path. "I just… I just can't-can't do it anymore, Lilah."

"Do what?" she asks, knowing full well he could be referring to any number of things.

"I can't be a part of this company, not after everything that's happened," he says. "Look, I'm not… I don't want to sound like I'm judging you for anything, alright? After the incident in Jurassic World, I told myself that I wasn't responsible. It was an accident, outside of our control, fine. But this…this is going too far."

Lilah, gives a small sigh. "Graham, we talked about this. We were left with no other options. The Jurassic World incident was a disaster, not only for Ingen, but for the entire Masrani enterprise. I had to recover the losses somehow."

"Like I said," he says, putting out a hand to try and appease her, "I'm not blaming you, I know it was a difficult decision. Hell, if I were in your place, I could very well have done the same thing. But as it is, I just think it was a mistake, certainly in the long term."

"The boarders knew the risks when they agreed," Lilah says dismissively.

"Oh please," Graham says, briefly turning to look at the ceiling. "Those over-baked potatoes couldn't give a shit about anything other than a check with at least nine zeroes written on it. They would sell their own grandchildren if it bought them two more hours of life. They don't' care about the long term effects."

"Okay, fine, I can't bring myself to lie about that with a straight face," she says, sitting up slightly. "But it was the only way to recover the substantial financial losses from the collapse of Jurassic World."

"I understand that," Graham says. "But that money comes with all kinds of greater implications and potential consequences. Look, Ingen had been sitting comfortably on the most powerful technology the world had ever seen. The genetic power Ingen was able to harness is enough to make nuclear power look like one of those fucking potato batteries you see at a fourth grade science fair. But it was a secret they kept for themselves, and when they inevitably touched the stove and burned their fingers, they wisely decided to back off. They kept their secret and did little with it.

"But now, everyone with a few bucks to spare knows. Every biotech firm from Tokyo to London is going to get their hands on this technology, do you have any concept of what could happen?"

"I'm not stupid, Graham," Lilah says defensively. "I know what could happen…I even have an idea of what probably will happen."

"You sold the future of the world," Graham says, his voice growing quiet. "We sold the future of the world, and we had no right. Whatever happens now, good or bad, will be our responsibility, and that is not something I'm prepared to shoulder."

Lilah chews her tongue for a few seconds. "Alright. I guess I understand. How much longer will you be staying?"

Graham relaxes slightly. "I'll give it another month. I have some prospects lined up, I just want to see them through first before I make any major decisions."

"Alright Graham," Lilah says. "I'll start looking for Vice Presidents then. I might need to ask your opinions on some people around the office."

"That much I can do," Graham says. "I'll see ya around."

"See ya, Graham."


	48. Epilogue

Thunderous waves crash against the jagged cliffs, breaking apart in walls of white froth. High above, the black, volcanic stone gives way to a line of lush, radiant green the cover the whole of the island interior. A chorus of frogs and birds fills the jungle air from one side of the island to the other, and everywhere in between.

Along the edges of the river, a pair of basal sauropodomorphs – _Anchisaurus_ – wet their lips with the cool, flowing water. The water flows into their open mouths, and the thrust their heads back to allow gravity to carry it down into their guts. Across the river, a few hundred feet away, a long-necked stegosaur called _Miragaia_ walks into the running water to cool off from the intense rays of the Central American sun. Her arrival disturbs a group of filter feeding pterosaurs, who pause from straining aquatic creatures through their thousands of bristle-like teeth, and take off into the air from a standing start.

As they fly over the plains to the West, they pass over dozens of horned ceratopsians, long-necked sauropods, and duck-billed hadrosaurs that browse for food among groves of ferns and cycads, or else foraging among the tops of trees. The piece of their feeding is disturbed when a _Concavenator_ – a mid-sized predator with a strange protrusion over his hips – erupts from the surrounding foliage to take out a ostrich-like _Gallimimus_. The two theropods clash in a brief though brutal moment of violence. When it ends, peace falls over the valley once more.

Far in the North of the island, the calls of the pack echo between the Eastern and Western mountains. And as the morning sun rises higher and higher, the _Tyrannosaurus rex_ climbs to the remnants of the Jurassic World helipad to survey her territory.

There are no more tourists or park workers. Whatever buildings remain are empty, and not a single volt of electricity is left running. Just weeks after the total evacuation of all human personnel from Isla Nublar, the jungle has already begun the process of reclaiming the land, just as it had over 20 years ago. And as the Tyrant Lizard Queen examines her domain, she lets out a triumphant, powerful roar that harkens back to a time long since past, when dinosaurs ruled the earth.


End file.
